Computed Tomography Evaluation of Blunt Abdominal Injury

Abstract

Background: Unlike penetrating abdominal trauma, where management is largely determined clinically, the diagnosis of blunt abdominal injury by clinical examination is unreliable, particularly in patients with a decreased level of consciousness.Plain abdominal radiography has limited role in the assessment of blunt abdominal trauma, although some authorities continue to advocate its use. CT scans main advantage is the ability to detect arterial contrast extravasation, uncontained or as a pseudoaneurysm, which predicts the need for surgery or angioembolisation. The aim is to study computed tomography evaluation of blunt abdominal injury. Subjects and Methods: The present study was conducted in the Department of Radiology of the medical institution. For the study, we used abdomen CT scan reports of 100 patients with BAT, who were stable enough to undergo radiological investigation. The patients included 66 males and 34 females. All CT scans were obtained with a 16 slice MDCT Scanner (Siemens). All patients received intravenous bolus of iodinated contrast agents. Individual organ injuries were graded according to the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST - OIS) injury scoring scale. The overall imaging findings were analysed for their role in guiding the therapeutic options, whether conservative or surgical. Results: Total number of patients included in the study was 100. The mean age of patients was 41.97 years. Number of male patients was 66 and number of female patients was 34. For the mode of injury, other miscellaneous causes were most common in out study group followed by road traffic accidents. It was observed that OIS grade II patients were 19, OIS grade III patients were 29, OIS grade IV patients were 12 and OIS grade V patients were 10. The highest proportion of conservatively managed patients were seen in OIS grade II patients. Conclusion: Within the limitations of the present study, it can be concluded that CT scan for blunt abdominal injury is a reliable and accurate method for diagnosis. It has all the qualities to make it a gold standard for initial investigation of choice for blunt abdominal injury patients.