The flight paramedics at Mercy Flight of Western New York are performing FAST exams as part of a study by the University at Buffalo/Erie County Medical Center.
I can provide you with contact name and info if you email me privately.
The idea of the study is to compare the accuracy (sensitivity, mostly) of a FAST exam performed by a flight medic in the prehospital environment with one performed by an e-med or surgical resident in an ED. They selected paramedics specifically for this study because supposedly, similar (successful) studies have been done with flight nurses.
A lot of folks don't seem to think that FAST exams have an application in the prehospital arena, but I disagree.....I think doing FAST exams in flight is an excellent idea. The required training is rather minimal, the equipment takes up little space, and, if performed properly, they only take a couple of minutes and are very sensitive to the detection of intra-abdominal free fluid (usually blood).
The debate over whether or not prehospital FAST exams benefit the patient reminds me a lot of the debate over whether or not prehospital 12-leads benefit patients.....and look at the type of cardiac care that some EMS systems are now providing thanks to their 12-lead programs. In some places, a 12-lead confirmed AMI activates triage criteria that leads to the transport of the patient directly to a facility with an interventional catheterization lab, potentially saving very valuable time.
Theoretically, the information gleaned from a prehospital FAST exam could be used to make similar triage decisions for trauma patients.
I'm of the opinion that more information is ALWAYS a good thing, even if it doesn't necessarily have an immediately apparent application.
Respectfully,
Allan Bulkley
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Allan Bulkley
NREMT-P, CCEMT-P, FP-C
Flight Paramedic, Mercy Flight Central
Canandaigua, NY
<< My question is:
1) Who is doing the FAST Ultrasound scans?
2) Who is interpreting? RN? EMT-P? Flight Physician?
2) How is it changing the care of the patient?
I am not convinced that there is a need in the pre-hospital environment.
Educate me please. Is there a reference for Lifelink III's paper?
David Summers
Jupiter FL
copterrn@bellsouth.net >>
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