Sunday, October 10, 2010

EMERGENCY SONOGRAPHY FOR TRAUMA - FAST PROTOCOL




Evaluation of patients with thoracoabdominal trauma is often a diagnostic challenge for emergency physicians and trauma surgeons. The use of ultrasound became a standard for trauma centers throughout the world. In fact, in many trauma centers bedside ultrasound has become the initial imaging modality used to evaluate the abdomen and chest in patients who present with blunt and penetrating trauma to the torso.

Bedside ultrasonography in the evaluation of trauma patients has been given name the FAST exam as a limited ultrasound examination, focusing on the detection of free fluid in abdominal, pleural and pericardial cavities, and also pneumothorax. The FAST provides the emergency team by valuable diagnostic information within several seconds or minutes allowing for rapid triage of patients with unstable hemodynamic.

Its success and growing popularity are in large part due to the fact that the examination is noninvasive and accurate and can be easily performed by emergency physicians and trauma surgeons with limited training. The FAST examination performed rapidly by the treating emergency physicians and trauma surgeons, who first face the trauma patients, allows to timely diagnosis and improves patient management, enhances patient safety, and saves lives.

This book just summarizes information about FAST exam from the best articles published in well-known electronic journals, sites and books containing the information about FAST protocol from 2000 – 2010, such as: American Journal of Roentgenology, Radiology, British Journal of Radiology, Radiographics, Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, The Journal of Trauma, Emergency Med. Journal, Chest, eMedicine, hqmeded.com, Trauma.org, sonoguide.com, Ultrasoundcases.info.

Emergency ultrasound O. John Ma, James R. Mateer, Michael Blaivas
Emergency radiology – Imaging and Intervention Borut Marincek, Robert F. Dondelinger
General ultrasound in the critically ill Daniel Lichtenstein
Manual of Emergency and Critical Care Ultrasound Vicki E. Noble, Bret Nelson, A. Nicholas Sutingco Ultrasound for surgeons Heidi L. Frankel
Ultrasound in Emergency Care Adam Brooks, Jim Connolly, Otto Chan
Practical Guide to Emergency Ultrasound Cosby, Karen S.; Kendall, John.
Chest Sonography Gebhard Mathis

This book provides a simplicity and compactness for the reader who uses emergency ultrasonography for trauma in practice and published on principles Open Medicine.

Dr.Yuliya, Ukraine, Sonologist, Mizdah General Hospital, Libya 2010
Nowadays - Dra. Julia, Ucrania, Hospital Central Do Lubango, Angola