Epidemiological Features and Intra-operative Pattern of Gastrointestinal Tract Injury: a Single Center, Descriptive Study.

Abstract

Background: Delayed diagnosis of gastrointestinal tract injury (GITI) could lead to terrify results and increase morbidity and mortality. Therefore, surgeons should be well-trained regarding the pattern and features of GITIs. In the recent study, we aimed to describe the epidemiological features and intra-operative characteristics of all patients sustaining GITIs.Methods: A 2-year retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted in the only referral trauma center in the south of Iran, from June 2018 to September 2020. A well-formed search was conducted within the database of our center to find patients with GITIs. Demographic data, on-arrival vital signs, and the outcomes were extracted from the patients' medical records and our center's database. In addition, intraoperative features of injuries were extracted from the operation note.Result: Totally, 247 patients were detected 142 (57.5%) had blunt abdominal trauma. The most common mechanism of injury was motor vehicle accidents (116 patients, 46.9%), followed by stabbing (21.9%) among all populations. Of note, patients following blunt injuries were significantly older [38.22 (16.62)] than those with penetrating insults, had longer hospital length of stay (both P-values <0.001), and had significantly higher mortality rate (P-value= 0.001).The most frequent isolated injury following a blunt trauma was small bowel (S.B) (66.9%), colon (21.0%), and duodenum (7%), respectively. However, in penetrating injury, S.B (26.7%), colon (21.9%), and stomach (13.3%) were the three most frequent injured sites. Liver injury was the most common associated injury following blunt (58.1%) and penetrating (48.1%) trauma Conclusion: Our study has shown that GITIs are not as uncommon as previously thought. Therefore, all physicians should always search for and consider GITIs in patients sustaining abdominal trauma to avoid patients' morbidity and mortality.