J Korean Soc Emerg Med.  2014 Aug;25(4):416-426. 10.0000/jksem.2014.25.4.416.

The Assessment and Consideration about Feasibility of eFAST Exam in Medical School Students in Korea

• Jun D
• Doh H
• Lee S
• Lee J
• Seo J
• Park S
• Kim H

• KMID: 2333897
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.0000/jksem.2014.25.4.416

Abstract

PURPOSE
Emergency physicians usually perform ultrasound exams for patients with multiple injuries. Extended focused assessment with sonography for trauma (eFAST) can reveal injuries from chest to the abdomen immediately. However, in Korea, the curriculums of medical schools do not currently include eFAST. We have devised a study to assess the feasibility of the eFAST exam in medical school students.
METHODS
This study was conducted in students in their fifth year out of six years of medical school, over 11 weeks. Four Emergency Medicine specialists trained the students over 4 hours, tested the students, and conducted a questionnaire.
RESULTS
Average age of students was 25.9+/-2.6 years, and 24 were male and 20 were female. Mean success rate of 17 components on the eFAST exam was 95.9% (94.6%-97.4%). The success rate of transverse view of aorta, transverse view of bladder, lung sliding sign, and sea-shore sign of both anterior chest walls was 100%, scanning the spleen and attaching the probe to a body surface were 75%, 86.3%. Total time consumption was 449.0+/-22.2 seconds. The questionnaires showed that the eFAST exam for the splenorenal recess, spleen, and left upper quadrant lung was difficult.
CONCLUSION
We found that medical students in Korea could perform the eFAST exam by themselves after 4 hours education. In the future, these findings can be helpful in development of an eFAST education program for medical students.

Keyword

Ultrasonography; Education; Medical students

MeSH Terms

Abdomen
Aorta
Curriculum
Education
Emergencies
Emergency Medicine
Female
Humans
Korea
Lung
Male
Multiple Trauma
Surveys and Questionnaires
Schools, Medical*
Specialization
Spleen
Students, Medical
Thorax
Ultrasonography
Urinary Bladder