• B Thomas, R E Falcone, D Vasquez, S Santanello, M Townsend, S Hockenberry, J Innes, and S Wanamaker.
• Grant Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
• J Trauma. 1997 Mar 1;42(3):384-8; discussion 388-90.

ObjectiveAlthough sonographic screening for blunt abdominal trauma is gaining acceptance, standards for implementation, training, credentialing, and quality control remain to be established.DesignThis prospective study examines a Level I trauma service experience with the de novo establishment of a trauma ultrasound (US) program credentialed through the Department of Surgery under the auspices of Continuous Quality Improvement.Materials And MethodsAll trauma surgeons attended a combined didactic and "hands on" 8-hour trauma US course. Abdominal sonography was subsequently performed on patients with potential blunt abdominal trauma followed by a standard diagnostic evaluation, which included computed tomographic scan, diagnostic peritoneal lavage, or observation.Measurements And Main ResultsThree hundred patients were studied over a 4-month period. They averaged 35 years of age with an average injury severity score of 12. The time required to perform the US examination averaged less than 3 minutes. Standard diagnostic evaluation included computed tomographic scan (21%), diagnostic peritoneal lavage (45%), and observation (34%). US examinations resulted in 277 true negatives, 17 true positives, two false positives, and four false negatives for a sensitivity of 81.0%, a specificity of 99.3%, and an accuracy of 98.0%. Annualized cost savings with the use of US evaluation versus standard diagnostic evaluation would amount to over $100,000.00.ConclusionsThis experience with the de novo implementation of a trauma US program suggests that the training and credentialing requirements in this study are sufficient to provide surgeon ultrasonographers with acceptable competence in US diagnosis of blunt abdominal trauma.

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