Abdominal visceral injury due to nonpenetrating trauma.
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Two cases of congenital hydronephrosis discovered by renal trauma are reported. The first case was a 15-year-old girl. When she was practicing KENDO, her Hakama clung to her legs, and she tumbled. She had emergency operation for abdominal injury. At surgery, no evidence of abdominal injury was detected. Renal trauma was suspected. Right renal angiography revealed hydronephrosis. The second case was a 23-year-old girl, complaining of abdominal pain after stumbling over a block. Intravenous pyelography showed no visualization of the right kidney and CT scan showed an abnormal shadow. Retrograde pyelography and angiography revealed right hydronephrosis. Including our two cases, 47 cases of renal traumata occurring in hydronephrotic kidney in the Japanese literature were reviewed. Thirty five of these cases were males. Many were youths under the age of twenty. Various sports caused many of the renal traumata. 37 of these cases were treated by nephrectomy.
Eleven of 14 survivors who sustained trauma to the abdominal aorta have been evaluated 16 to 18 years after injury through personal interview, physical examination, and abdominal contrast computerized tomography (CCT). The average age of survivors was 39 years (range, 37-47). All patients had minimal debridement of the aortic injury with lateral arteriorrhaphy. No patients had symptoms of arterial insufficiency. However, five patients had abnormal ankle/brachial indices (ABI). In four patients, ABI was less than 1.00 at rest and a fifth patient's ABI decreased significantly: 0.60 left and 0.65 right from an average of 1.00 bilaterally after standardized exercise treadmill. CCT evaluation revealed aortic calcification in five patients in the area of aortic injury. Aortic calcification occurred only in the patients with abnormal ABI's. This long-term followup identifies no evidence for late compromise in the aorta; however, there is a suggestion that injury and repair may contribute to the accelerated development of atherosclerosis.
This report reviews the contemporary value of diagnostic peritoneal lavage (DPL) in the assessment of abdominal trauma, and reports the methods and results of its application within one trauma centre (Washington Hospital Center). DPL was reserved for those patients where doubt existed as to the presence of intra-abdominal injury, and gave a very accurate assessment of intraperitoneal injury. The complication rate was 0.4% and the accuracy of DPL was 97.7%. Except for laparotomy, DPL is the most sensitive indicator of haemoperitoneum available. It was first introduced with the aim of reducing the number of missed diagnoses of abdominal injury and it performs this task excellently when a low threshold for positivity is used. The open technique is safest and gives fewer false positive results, and the colorimetric method of analysis of lavage fluid is recommended, with strict adherence to advised criteria for negativity. A clinical algorithm is described, utilizing DPL, aimed at early diagnosis of all intra-abdominal injuries. This was extremely sensitive and failed in only one case in 384 (0.3%). The attendant, non-therapeutic laparotomy rate was 19%, and is regarded as acceptable within the aims of early diagnosis. In this series, there was no mortality or morbidity attached to the use of DPL or from non-therapeutic laparotomy, and there was only one delayed diagnosis in the entire series. No bowel, bladder, diaphragmatic, duodenal or pancreatic injuries were missed or diagnosed late.
This case report describes a patient with an intimal flap of the abdominal aorta after a motor vehicle crash. The patient was an unrestrained driver with minimal anterior chest wall pain. This is a rare injury and one that is difficult to find due to its rarity. The lower cut of the chest CT scan found the injury. Its treatment with endovascular stenting is discussed.
Seatbelt injury to the abdominal aorta is a rare finding with an unresolved mechanism. We present a case in which a rear-seat passenger wearing a lap belt was involved in a motor vehicle accident. Injuries sustained included a contused abdominal aorta. At the time of aortic repair, the involved segment was found to be atheromatous, had an intimal tear, and a flap that caused complete occlusion. Graft replacement was carried out employing a 12-mm DeBakey woven dacron prosthesis, which restored satisfactory circulation to both lower limbs. The patient developed myoglobinemia and subsequently died due to multiple organ failure 19 days following the accident. Tearing against the vertebral column, and bowel loop entrapment, in high-speed deceleration have been implicated as injury mechanisms as well as impingement by the belt or metal buckle, in such injuries. Also, our patient had existing atheromatous plaque, which was ruptured.
Injuries to the intestine and mesentery are often found in patients undergoing laparotomy for blunt abdominal trauma. Although treatment of perforations is relatively straightforward, the same is not true for contusions. Few guidelines exist at present to aid the surgeon in deciding which injuries require resection in order to avoid the complications of delayed perforation and late stricture formation. The natural history of these non-perforating intestinal and mesenteric injuries has been examined in an experimental model to identify possible criteria on which future management can be based. In the immediate postinjury period peristalsis and local mesenteric pulsation were absent in the majority of injuries which went on to full recovery and these observations are thus of little predictive value in predicting outcome. The initial size of contusion (length of contusion along longitudinal axis of bowel) relative to bowel wall circumference (BWC) was related to complications as follows: contusion less than BWC (n = 47)--one complication; contusion greater than BWC (n = 8)--three complications (P = 0.02). Similarly, six mesenteric injuries which produced an initial ischaemia (assessed by fluorescein) less than twice the BWC did not result in any complications, compared with four complications which occurred in ten cases when the initial ischaemia was greater than twice the BWC. These results go some way towards providing a better understanding of these injuries and in turn may help the emergency surgeon in deciding which injuries require resection.
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PURPOSE: We sought to evaluate the continuing validity of our criteria for radiographic imaging of renal injuries, that is penetrating flank or abdominal trauma, blunt trauma with gross hematuria or microscopic hematuria and shock, deceleration or major associated abdominal injury and pediatric renal trauma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed the records of 2,254 patients who presented to our institution with suspected renal trauma between 1977 and 1992. RESULTS: Of the 1,588 blunt trauma patients with microscopic hematuria and no shock 3 had significant injury but these cases were discovered during imaging or exploratory laparotomy for associated injuries. Followup in 515 of 1,004 patients (51%) who did not undergo initial imaging revealed no significant complications. CONCLUSIONS: Adults with blunt renal trauma, microscopic hematuria and no shock or major associated intra-abdominal injuries can safely be spared radiographic imaging.
The exclusive jejunal and ileal lesion due to blunt trauma is a rare and potentially lethal condition. The small intestine is the most damaged organ in penetrating abdominal injuries, although its isolated injury in blunt abdominal trauma is rare and difficult to diagnosed. There are no characteristic signs nor symptoms in the exclusive jejunal and ileal lesions due to abdominal contusions which result in high morbidity and mortality rates since a late diagnosis is done despite advanced auxiliary diagnostic methods available. Considering these facts, the aim of the present work is to study the prognosis of patients suffering from this type of injury due to abdominal trauma, taking into consideration the time elapsed between the trauma and its diagnosis and the importance of its early surgical correction.
The major cause of death in children is trauma. Although prompt recognition of blunt abdominal injury is essential, physical examination is an inexact means of establishing the diagnosis. One hundred thirty-five blunt trauma victims under 16 years of age underwent open diagnostic peritoneal lavage over a three-year period. The overall accuracy rate of peritoneal lavage was 95.5 per cent, which included true-negatives (65.9%), false-positives (4.5%), and true-positives (29.6%). These were no false-negative results. Of 40 patients with intra-abdominal injuries, five (12.5%) did not require surgical correction. Open diagnostic peritoneal lavage is the single best test for detecting serious intra-abdominal injury following blunt trauma in children and adolescents.
Intestinal injury is increasing in frequency among persons sustaining blunt abdominal trauma, and the consequences of delayed recognition of intestinal injuries are serious. This critical retrospective analysis evaluates the role for CT in the diagnosis of blunt abdominal trauma, including hollow visceral injury. CT scan, when used in conjunction with a history emphasizing the mechanism of injury and a careful physical examination, is highly accurate in detecting small bowel injuries. CT is less helpful in distinguishing between different types of small bowel injury. Intestinal wall thickening with low-density fluid in the abdominal cavity strongly suggests rupture. Until further experience is gained with CT, free intraperitoneal fluid in the absence of solid organ injury should be regarded as an indication for exploratory laparotomy.
STUDY OBJECTIVES: To determine whether potentially life-threatening intra-abdominal injuries occur in the absence of multisystem trauma in children, and to determine the usefulness of physical examination and a pediatric triage score in the assessment of liver and spleen injuries in children. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: Admissions to a children's hospital from October 1982 through September 1989 who were found to have liver or spleen injuries. Seventy-seven patients were identified; 55 were male, 22 were female. Mean age was 9 years and 3 months (+/- 56 months) with a range of 22 months to 20 years, 4 months. Clinical signs were recorded and a Pediatric Trauma Score (PTS) and Injury Severity Score (ISS) were calculated for each patient. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Fifty-four patients (70%) had a spleen injury, 18 (23%) had a liver injury, and five (7%) had both liver and spleen injuries. Patients were managed without surgery in 63 of 77 cases (82%); two died. Fifty-one of 77 patients (66%) received an ISS of 18 or less; 26 patients (34%) received a score of more than 18. Forty-four of the 51 patients (86%) with an ISS of 18 or less had a normal pulse (120 or less); 48 of the 51 (94%) had a normal systolic blood pressure (90 mm Hg or more). A strong negative correlation (r = -0.80; P = .001) was found between the two scores for children with multiple severe injuries (ISS of more than 18); there was poor correlation (r = -0.04; P greater than .05) between the two scores for isolated liver or spleen injury (ISS of 18 or less). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that liver or spleen damage may be present in children without other injuries and must be considered with a high index of suspicion, and that neither the initial clinical findings nor the PTS reliably predicts liver or spleen injuries in children with focal abdominal injuries.
BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Falls are classified as low or high level for triage purposes. Because triage criteria dictate less urgency for low-level falls, this classification scheme has important implications for pediatric emergency care. METHODS: Retrospective analysis was conducted of 729 (393 low-level and 336 high-level) pediatric patients treated for fall-related trauma (1992 through 1998). Falls were classified as low (<15 feet) or high-level (> or =15 feet). All falls were reported as accidental or unintentional. RESULTS: The overall mortality rate was 1.6% (2.4% for high-level falls compared with 1.0% for low-level falls). All 4 patients who died of a low-level fall had an abnormal head computed tomography (CT) scan and intracranial hypertension. Half of deaths from high-level falls were attributable to intracranial injuries, and half were caused by severe extracranial injuries. Common extracranial injuries were upper extremity fracture (6.2%), lower extremity fracture (5.6%), pulmonary contusion (1.8%), pneumothorax (1.1%), liver laceration (1.1%), bowel injury (1.0%), and splenic injury (2.1%). Orthopedic and thoracic injuries resulted more commonly from high-level falls, whereas abdominal injuries were as likely to occur after a low-level fall. CONCLUSIONS: Intracranial injury accounts for the majority of deaths from falls. Children suffering low-level falls were at similar risk for intracranial and abdominal injuries compared with those who fell from greater heights. Pediatric trauma triage criteria should account for these findings.
PURPOSE: To evaluate the frequency and importance of transverse process fractures of lumbar vertebrae identified at helical computed tomography (CT) in patients with blunt abdominal trauma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Helical abdominal CT scans in 536 consecutive patients with a history of blunt abdominal trauma were prospectively evaluated for transverse process fractures of the lumbar spine. The number and level of fractures were categorized and correlated to the retrospective and initial interpretations of the radiographs obtained at original trauma examination. Number and type of associated abdominal injuries were recorded. RESULTS: CT scans showed transverse process fractures in 39 (7.3%) patients. Seventy-nine fractures were identified (single fractures in 12 patients, multiple fractures in 27). Fractures were right-sided in 13 patients, left-sided in 24, and bilateral in two. Transverse process fractures of the L3 vertebra were most common (n = 25). Fractures were not reported in 20 (61%) of 33 initial radiographic assessments. Even at retrospective review, only 30 (57%) of 53 fractures were correctly identified. Transverse process fractures were associated with abdominal injuries in 20 (51%) patients; this association was statistically significant (P <.001). CONCLUSION: Initial conventional radiography is relatively insensitive in the detection of transverse process fractures of the lumbar spine. There is a statistically significant association between transverse process fractures and abdominal injury.