• S Tajoddini and S Shams Vahdati.
• Kerman Neuroscience Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Islamic Republic of Iran. tajadinishahrad@yahoo.com.
• Eur J Trauma Emerg S. 2013 Feb 1; 39 (1): 9-13.

ObjectiveBlunt abdominal trauma is a diagnostic challenge for emergency physicians and ultrasonography is one of the diagnostic tools used in this type of injuries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of ultrasonographies performed by emergency physicians and radiologists.MethodsThis prospective diagnostic study was performed in the emergency departments of two trauma centers in Iran during a period of 12 months. The subjects were all patients with blunt abdominal trauma that were candidated for abdominopelvic computed tomography (CT) scanning in our emergency departments. The results of focused assessment with sonography for trauma (FAST) performed by emergency physicians and radiologists were compared blindly with the results of CT scans performed by radiologists. The sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of diagnosis for different abdominal anatomic areas were calculated.ResultsIn total, 450 patients undergoing FAST and CT scanning were studied. The sensitivity of radiologists' diagnoses for Morison's, splenorenal, perivesical, and pleural effusion areas were, respectively, 88.0, 70.0, 38.0, and 30.0 %. The corresponding values for emergency physicians' diagnoses were, respectively, 82.0, 60.0, 28.0, and 30.0 %. The specificity of radiologists' diagnoses in the mentioned areas were, respectively, 98.9, 100, 93.1, and 100 %, and for emergency physicians, they were, respectively, 98.9, 100, 96.0, and 100 %.ConclusionEmergency physicians showed a promising performance in applying FAST in blunt abdominal trauma. The specificity of ultrasonographic diagnosis in the emergency physicians group and the radiologists group were comparable, while radiologists showed a higher performance regarding the sensitivity of the ultrasonographic diagnosis.

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