Trauma is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children of all age groups. Focused assessment with sonography for trauma (FAST) exam is not routinely an integral part of initial evaluation of pediatric trauma patients despite its wide spread use in adult patients. This might be attributed to lack of any randomized clinical trial. Computed Tomography (CT) is the gold standard modality for evaluation of pediatric trauma but, it is expensive and carries risk of malignancy due to exposure to ionizing radiation. There is limited evidence on test characteristics of Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) for diagnosing pneumothorax in pediatric population. POCUS might be an adjunct that increases the precision of clinical decision rules for CT in pediatric patients with head trauma but, further research is needed.
But, the question remains open, as how reliable it is for clinical decision making concerning pediatric trauma.
AIM OF THE WORK:
The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of point of care ultrasound in pediatric trauma management and its impact on early therapeutic interventions.