What is FASTED used for?

• A. Prehospital Stroke Severity Scale, for patients with a positive BE-FAST
• B. Prehospital trauma scoring
• C. Pediatric seizure risk assessment
• D. Cardiac risk stratification

Answer: (A)

FASTED is used as a prehospital stroke severity scale to gauge how severe a suspected stroke is and, importantly, to estimate the likelihood of a large vessel occlusion after a positive BE-FAST screen. In practice, EMS first uses BE-FAST to flag possible stroke; if BE-FAST is positive, FASTED helps quantify severity and supports decisions about destination transport, such as whether to bypass a nearer facility in favor of a center capable of endovascular therapy. It’s not meant for trauma scoring, pediatric seizure risk, or cardiac risk stratification, which are addressed by other tools.