Abdominal Trauma, Blunt
Basics
Description
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Injury results from a sudden increase of pressure to abdomen.
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Solid organ injury usually manifests as hemorrhage.
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Hollow viscous injuries result in bleeding and peritonitis from contamination with bowel contents.
Etiology
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Sixty percent result from motor vehicle collisions.
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Solid organs are injured more frequently than hollow viscous organs.
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The spleen is the most frequently injured organ (25%), followed by the liver (15%), intestines (15%), retroperitoneal structures (13%), and kidney (12%).
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Less frequently injured are the mesentery, pancreas, diaphragm, urinary bladder, urethra, and vascular structures.
Pediatric Considerations
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Children tend to tolerate trauma better because of the more elastic nature of their tissues.
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Owing to the smaller size of the intrathoracic abdomen, the spleen and liver are more exposed to injury because they lie partially outside the bony rib cage.
Diagnosis
