Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34817706›Full record

ArticleEmergency radiology2022

A multicenter evaluation of the accuracy of prehospital eFAST by a physician-staffed helicopter emergency medical service.

Christopher Partyka, Andrew Coggins, Jimmy Bliss, Brian Burns, Michele Fiorentino, Pierre Goorkiz, Matthew Miller

Abstract readMulticenter Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Emergency radiology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.8field-weighted citation impact, top 9% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Ultrasound as a tool in prehospital settings: a scoping review.Clinical and experimental emergency medicine · 2025
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Christopher PartykaAeromedical Operations, NSW Ambulance, 33 Nancy Ellis Leebold Drive, Bankstown Airport, Sydney, NSW, 2200, Australia. Christopher.Partyka@health.nsw.gov.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7142-4386
Andrew CogginsEmergency Department, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW, Australia.
Jimmy BlissAeromedical Operations, NSW Ambulance, 33 Nancy Ellis Leebold Drive, Bankstown Airport, Sydney, NSW, 2200, Australia.
Brian BurnsSydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8794-0710
Michele FiorentinoEmergency Department, Blacktown Hospital, Blacktown, NSW, Australia.
Pierre GoorkizIntensive Care Unit, Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool, NSW, Australia.
Matthew MillerAeromedical Operations, NSW Ambulance, 33 Nancy Ellis Leebold Drive, Bankstown Airport, Sydney, NSW, 2200, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5251-7939
The University of Sydney · AUNSW Ambulance · AUBlacktown & Mount Druitt Hospital · AULiverpool Hospital · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThe purpose of this study is to report the relative accuracy of prehospital extended focused assessment with sonography in trauma (eFAST) examinations performed by HEMS physicians.

methodsTrauma patients who received prehospital eFAST by HEMS clinicians between January 2013 and December 2017 were reviewed. The clinician's interpretations of these ultrasounds were compared to gold standard references of CT imaging or operating room findings. The outcomes measured include the calculated accuracy of eFAST for detecting intraperitoneal free fluid (IPFF), pneumothorax, hemothorax, and pericardial fluid compared to available gold standard results.

resultsOf the 411 patients with adequate data for comparison, the median age was 39.5 years with 73% male and 98% sustaining blunt force trauma. For the detection of IPFF, eFAST had a sensitivity of 25% (95% CI 16-36%) and specificity of 96% (95% CI 93-98%). Sensitivities and specificities were calculated for pneumothorax (38% and 96% respectively), hemothorax (17% and 97% respectively), and pericardial effusion (17% and 100% respectively). These results did not change significantly when reassessed with several sensitivity analyses.

conclusionPrehospital eFAST is reliable for detecting the presence of intraperitoneal free fluid. This finding should inform receiving trauma teams to prepare for early definitive care in these patients. The low sensitivities across all components of the eFAST highlight the importance of cautiously interpreting negative studies while prompting the need for further studies.

trial registrationACTRN12618001973202 (Registered on 06/12/2018).

Indexed as

Air AmbulancesEmergency Medical ServicesPhysiciansThoracic InjuriesWounds, NonpenetratingAdultAircraftFemaleHumansMaleEmergency medical servicesFocused assessment with sonography for traumaInjuryTraumaUltrasonography

Identifiers

PMID34817706
OpenAlexW3217102022

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.