What is the FAST Approach?

FAST stands for Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma. Gregory Lisciandro, DVM, DABVP, DACVECC, CEO of FASTVet.com, co-owner of Hill Country Veterinary Specialists, explains the origin of the FAST approach.

FAST was created as a triage and post-interventional screening test by human trauma surgeons in the 1990s. Medical practitioners soon realized that FAST should be used to all non-trauma triage cases, too. The approach picks up on conditions practitioners would otherwise miss if diagnosis was based solely on less sensitive information such as the physical examination, blood and urine tests, and radiographs.