The effectiveness results were as follows:
The study finding indicated that FAST was both specific (99%) and sensitive (68%) in the sample used.
Of the 650 patients undergoing FAST, true negative (TN) was 95%, true positive (TP) was 3% compared with false negative (FN) at 1%, and false positive (FP) at 0.5%.
The accuracy of FAST as performed by the US technicians was 96% versus 92% as performed by the surgical residents.
The mean accuracy of both was 94%.
The number of patients requiring follow-up studies was 64 (10% of the study sample); CAT scans were performed on 59 (9%) of these patients.
The CAT scan finding confirmed the initial findings of the original FAST in 83% of the study sample (49), resulting in a 67% TN and 39% TP.
In the remaining 10 (17%) cases, the CAT scan differed in results from the initial FAST. This resulted in a 73% FN and a 27% FP.