Bedside abdominal ultrasound (FAST) to find internal belly injuries in children after blunt trauma
A randomized controlled trial of abdominal ultrasound (FAST) in children with blunt torso trauma
This project compares bedside abdominal ultrasound (FAST) with standard care to find internal bleeding in children after blunt belly injuries.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California at Davis NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Davis, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11142613 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If your child comes to the emergency room with a blunt belly or torso injury, doctors in this project will use a quick bedside ultrasound (FAST) for some children while others get the usual evaluation. Children are randomly assigned to one approach so outcomes can be compared fairly. The team will track whether using FAST changes how often CT scans are done, how quickly injuries are found, and whether dangerous injuries are missed. The goal is to reduce unnecessary radiation from CT scans while keeping children safe.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Children who present to participating emergency departments with recent blunt abdominal or torso trauma and who meet the study's enrollment criteria are the intended participants.
Not a fit: Children who are hemodynamically unstable needing immediate surgery, those with penetrating injuries, or those already diagnosed by CT before enrollment are unlikely to benefit from the randomized comparison.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could lower the number of CT scans and radiation exposure for injured children while still catching important abdominal injuries.
How similar studies have performed: Randomized trials in injured adults have shown that strategies including FAST improve aspects of care, but high-quality randomized data in children are limited, so this applies adult evidence to a pediatric population.
Where this research is happening
Davis, United States
- University of California at Davis — Davis, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Holmes, James F. — University of California at Davis
- Study coordinator: Holmes, James F.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.