Role of FAST in Blunt Abdominal Trauma: A Diagnostic Tool for Management Evaluation and Accuracy Comparison with CT Scan and Laparotomy

Abstract

Blunt abdominal trauma continues to pose significant diagnostic and management challenges, especially in polytrauma patients where timely identification of intra-abdominal injuries is essential for improving outcomes. The Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (FAST) has gained widespread acceptance as a rapid, non-invasive bedside investigation for the detection of hemoperitoneum. This prospective observational study assesses the utility of FAST in patients with blunt abdominal trauma and compares its diagnostic performance with contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) and findings at exploratory laparotomy.
A total of 60 patients presenting with blunt abdominal trauma between January 2021 and August 2022 were included. FAST results were systematically correlated with CECT findings and intraoperative observations. FAST showed high sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value, particularly in hemodynamically unstable patients. The findings support FAST as an effective initial screening tool in the evaluation of blunt abdominal trauma, while reaffirming CECT as the diagnostic gold standard in stable patients and exploratory laparotomy as the definitive intervention in unstable cases.