Blunt Abdominal Injury

Abstract

Road traffic accidents are one of the leading causes of mortality. Blunt injury abdomen contributes to the mortality in road traffic accidents second to head injury. The mechanism of injury in road traffic accidents are due to blunt force created by collision between the patient and the external forces, acceleration and deceleration forces acting on the person’s internal forces. The common solid organs involved in blunt abdominal trauma are Spleen, Liver, and Kidney. Mesenteric tear and isolated small bowel injuries can also occur. Blunt abdominal trauma is one of the very common emergencies in the emergency department. High degree of suspicion and watchfulness, regular examination, imaging and investigations are needed to diagnose blunt injury abdomen. E-FAST is the emergency screening tool used to diagnose intra-abdominal injuries in emergency department even in hemodynamically unstable patient. The treatment will depend on the hemodynamical status, whether stable or unstable. Hemodynamically unstable patient with positive E-FAST will be taken up for emergency exploration while stable patient will undergo further imaging and investigation to plan the management. The chapter will discuss about the grades of injuries in spleen, Liver, mesentery and retroperitoneum. It will also discuss about the various diagnostic and treatment modalities available and when and where to use them to improve the quality of management. This chapter will be useful for the surgical postgraduates and young budding surgeons and trauma surgeons.