Chapter 54 Blunt Abdominal Trauma (Case 37)
Case: A 62-year-old male presents with suspected blunt abdominal trauma resulting from a motor vehicle accident.
Differential Diagnosis
Solid organ injury (spleen, liver, kidney, pancreas) | Hollow viscous injury (stomach, small bowel, colon) |
Vascular injury (mesenteric vessel disruption esp. elderly) | Diaphragm rupture |
PATIENT CARE
Clinical Thinking
• Breathing: Quickly evaluate for tracheal deviation, breath sounds over each lung field, crepitus, and jugular venous distention.
• Circulation: Insert two large-bore (14- or 16-gauge) IV lines and start fluid resuscitation. Send a type and crossmatch specimen.
• Disability: Check the pupils and assess the neurological status (Glasgow Coma Scale). The spine should be evaluated for tenderness and/or step-offs.
History
• The mechanism of injury (restrained, airbag deployment, vehicle impact and damage, prolonged extrication, ejection from vehicle) should be determined.
Physical Examination
• Initial examination: If the patient is hemodynamically unstable, a comprehensive secondary survey is postponed (go back to the ABCs and evaluate for life-threatening injuries). Assess for reasons that may make the physical examination unreliable, such as distracting injuries (e.g., long bone fracture), altered mental state, or drug or alcohol intoxication.
• Inspection: Look for external signs of injuries (i.e., a pattern of injury, ecchymosis, or abrasions).
• Auscultation: Absence of bowel sounds may suggest abdominal injury, but ileus after trauma also is common.
• Palpation: Assess for tenderness, guarding, distention, or rebound. Also check for pelvic stability or tenderness and perform a rectal examination (assess the prostate and rectal tone, and evaluate stool for gross or occult blood). Presence of a high-riding prostate suggests the possibility of a urethral injury. Pelvic tenderness or instability suggests pelvic fracture.
Tests for Consideration
$65 | |
$440/unit | |
$120 | |
$56 | |
$35 | |
$450 |
Editor’s note: The severely injured blunt trauma patient may require an extensive radiographic evaluation. For an overview of the tests suggested below, the reader is referred to Chapter 48, Trauma Radiology Tools. | |
Anterior-posterior (erect, if possible) chest radiography (end of expiration) | $120 |
Lateral cervical spine radiography | $50 |
AP pelvic radiography | $80 |
FAST: Assess for presence of free fluid in the following spaces: pericardial, hepatorenal, splenorenal, pelvic. A positive FAST examination in a hemodynamically unstable patient is an indication for laparotomy. A positive result in a patient with stable VS needs further evaluation with CT. | $190 |
Depending on clinical situation: | |
CT of head, spine, thorax, abdomen, and pelvis: CT is performed in the patient with stable VS and abdominal tenderness, unreliable examination because of abnormal sensorium, or positive FAST examination result in the stable patient. | $800 each |
Angiography: Performed by skilled interventional radiologists in stable patients for whom CT reveals a contrast blush within a solid organ or the pelvis. | $1,100 |
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