Association between a positive ED FAST examination and therapeutic laparotomy in normotensive blunt trauma patients.

Although a positive FAST (focused assessment with sonography for trauma) examination in hypotensive blunt trauma patients generally suggests the need for emergent laparotomy, this finding's significance in normotensive trauma patients is unclear. We tested the association between a positive FAST and the need for therapeutic laparotomy in normotensive blunt trauma patients. This was a retrospective cohort analysis of consecutive normotensive blunt trauma patients presenting to two trauma centers.