The Use of the FAST (Focused Abdominal Scan for Trauma) Scan by Paramedics in Mass Casualty Incidents

The Use of the FAST Scan by Paramedics in Mass Casualty Incidents

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01310504

Enrollment

Registered

2011-03-08

Start date

2011-03-31

Completion date

2011-05-31

Last updated

2012-08-17

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Mass Casualty

Brief summary

Initially a group of paramedics will be trained to perform FAST (Focused Abdominal Scan for Trauma) scans. The paramedics will then enter a simulated mass causality incident and triage patients. Volunteers in the study will include peritoneal dialysis patients (non stable) and non-peritoneal dialysis patients (stable). They will use the ultrasound to perform FAST scans on the patients to determine which subjects are stable and which are unstable patients. They will record which patients they consider need transport first. This data will be used to evaluate accuracy and speed of the FAST scan. When the paramedic identifies free fluid within the volunteer, they will be able to make the decision to upgrade these patients and ultimately transport them more quickly. The paramedics will be evaluated for time and accuracy with the FAST scan.

Detailed description

Ultrasound and the FAST (Focused Abdominal Scan for Trauma) scan is currently being used in the Emergency Department to help evaluate trauma patients. In the field a paramedic will use the START (Simple Triage Rapid Treatment) triage procedure to evaluate many patients and to help decide which patients are more critical and therefore need to be transported first. This study aims to create a mass casualty environment through the use of 10 volunteers who are on peritoneal dialysis and 10 patients who are not.

Interventions

PROCEDURESonoSite Ultrasound

Will be moulaged to resemble a peritoneal dialysis patient. Paramedics will scan the abdomen and determine it there's fluid within.

Study design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

SINGLE (Caregiver)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 90 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

Paramedic - at least one year in the field, physically able to perform the test Patients: * (10)peritoneal dialysis patient that are able to leave dialysate in abdominal cavity for the duration of the test * (10) subjects not on peritoneal dialysis who are available for the duration of the test

Exclusion criteria

* Under 18 years of age

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
To evaluate the use of the ultra sound and FAST scans in a simulation of a mass causality incident by paramedics for accuracy and speed	up to 1 year

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026