1. ABDOMINAL TRAUMA : AN OVERVIEW
Dr S. Lal MS
Associate Professor
Department of Surgery
ESI PGIMSR New Delhi
2. Introduction
• Abdominal trauma is regularly
encountered in the emergency department
• One of the leading cause of death and
disability
• Identification of serious intra-abdominal
injuries is often challenging
• Many injuries may not manifest during
the initial assessment and
treatment period
3. Epidemiology
• Peak incidence Abdominal Trauma
15 - 30yr
• More than 1.5 Lac people die every year
as a result of injuries by motor vehicle
accident , fall, suicide and homicide
• Injury accounts for 10% of all deaths
• Estimates indicate that by 2020, 8.4
million people will die yearly.
• Prevalence: 13%
10. Prehospital Care
• The goal of prehospital is to deliver the pt
to hospital for definitive care as rapidly
as possible. „Scoop and Run‟
• Maintain airway & start I V line
• Care of spinal cord
• Communicate to medical control
• Rapid transport of patient to trauma
centre
11. Initial Assessment and Resuscitation
Primary survey
Identification & treatment of life threatening
conditions
• Airway , with cervical spine precautions
• Breathing
• Circulation
• Disability
• Exposure
12. Emergency Care
• I V fluids
• Control external bleeding
• Dressing of wounds
• Protect eviscerated organs with a sterile
dressing
• Stabilize an impaled object in place
• Give high flow oxygen
• Immobilize the patient with a fractured pelvis
• Keep the patient warm
• Analgesics
13. Secondary Survey
• General &Systemic Examination-to identify
all occult injuries .
• Special attention to Back, Axilla , Perineum
• PR - sphincter tone ,bleeding ,perforation
, high riding prostate
• Foley‟s catheter- monitor urine out put
• Nasogastric tube
17. Examination
Grey-Turner’s Sign: (1877-1951)
Bluish discoloration of the flanks
Retroperitoneal Hematoma
hemorrhagic pancreatitis.
Kehr’s sign (1862-1916).
Referred pain, Right shoulder
irritation of the diaphragm
(Splenic injury, free air,
intra-abdominal bleeding)
18. Examination
Balance’s Sign
Dullness on percussion of the left upper quadrant
ruptured spleen
Labia and Scrotum : Pooling of blood from
abdominal and pelvic cavities.
19. Examination
Auscultation :1. Bowel sounds in the thoracic
cavity (Diaphragmatic rupture)
2. Haemothorax
Palpation: -Mass
-Tenderness
-Signs of peritonitis
-# Ribs
-Chest & Pelvic compression test
21. Focused Assessment with Sonography in
Trauma (FAST)
• First used in 1996
• Rapid , Accurate
• Sensitivity 86- 99%
• Can detect 100 mL of blood
• Cost effective
• Four different views- Pericardiac
Perihepatic
Perisplenic
Peripelvic space
• Eliminates unnecessary CT scans
• Helps in management plan
22. Plain X-Ray Chest & Abdomen
• Pneumotharax, Haemothorax
• Free air under diaphragm
• Nasogastric tube, bowel loops in the chest
• Elevation of the both /Single diaphragm
• Lower Ribs # -Liver /Spleen Injury
• Ground Glass Appearance –
Massive Hemoperitoneum
• Obliteration of Psoas Shadow –Retroperitoneal
Bleeding
• #vertebra
23. USG
Advantage Disadvantage
• Easy & Early to Diagnose . Examiner Dependent
• Noninvasive • Obesity
• No Radiation Exposure • Gas interposition
Resuscitation/Emergency • Low Sensitivity for free fluid
room less 500 mL
Used in initial Evaluation • False –Negative
retroperitoneal & Hallow
Low cost viscus injury
24.
25. Paracentasis
• Four quadrant aspiration of abdomen
• A Positive tap – blood , air , bile
stained fluid
• Negative tap doesn‟t rule out injury.
• False negatives are as high as 22-60%
26. Diagnostic Peritoneal Lavage
• First described in 1965
• Rapid & Accurate test used to identify
intra-abdominal injuries
• Predictive value of greater than 90%
• The RBC count for lavage fluid is >
1,00,000/cu m.m.
• A WBC count > 500/cu m.m.
• Test is highly sensitive to presence of
intraperitoneal blood
• However specificity is low
30. CT Scan
•Gold Standard
•Haemodynamically Stable
• Provides excellent imaging of
pancreas, duodenum and Genitourinary system
•Standard for detection of solid organs injury.
• Determines the source and amount of bleeding
• Can reveal other associated injuries e.g.
Vertebral & Pelvic # & injury in the thoracic
cavity .
•High Specificity-95%
34. Solid Organ Injuries
• Grading of injured solid organs such as Spleen, Liver &
Kidneys are on the basis of subcapsular hematoma ,capsular
tear, parenchymal lacerations & avulsion of vascular pedicle
• Bleeds significantly and cause rapid blood loss
• Difficult to identify injury by physical exam
• Repeated assessment is required to make the diagnosis
• Slowly oozing blood into peritoneal cavity
35. SPLENIC INJURY
• Most common intra- abdominal organ to injured (40-55%)
• 20% of splenic injuries due to left lower rib fractures
• Commonly arterial hemorrhage
• Conservative management :
-Hemodynamic stability
- Negative abdominal examination
-Absence of contrast extravasation in CT
- Absence of other indication of Laprotomy
-Grade 1to 3 (Subcapsular Hematoma ,Laceration <3 cm)
Monitoring
• Serial abdo. Examinations & Haematocrit are essential
• Success rate of conservative m/m is >80%
36. Splenic Injuries
Operative Management
Capsular tears (I)- Compression & topical haemostatic
agent
Deep Laceration (II)- Horizontal mattress suture
or Splenorrhaphy
Major Laceration not involving hilum (IV)-
Partial Splenectomy
Hillar injury (V)–Total Splenectomy
Grade IV-V: almost invariably require operative
intervention
Success rate of Splenic salvage procedure is 40-60%
37. Liver injury
• Liver is the largest organ in abdomen
• 2nd most common organ injured (35-
45%) in BTA
• Driving and fighting responsible for
50% of deaths due to liver injury
• Usually venous bleeding
• 85% of all patients with blunt hepatic
trauma are stable
• CT is the mainstay of diagnosis in stable
pt.
38. Liver Injury
• 50% liver injury have stop bleeding
spontaneously by the time of surgery
Non Operative m/m
• Haemodynamically Stable
• No other intra-abdominal injury require surgery
• < 2 units of BT required
• Hemoperitoneum <500 ml on CT
• Grade I-III(subcapsular & intr-perenchymal hematoma)
39. Liver Injury
Operative m/m
• Packing
- Bleeding can be stopped by
packing of abdomen
-Pack removed after 48 hr
-haemostatic agents
-34 % survival in packing only
40. Liver Injury
Operative Management(Contd.)
• Suturing: -Simple suture
-Deep mattress suture
• Laceration: -Mesh hepatorrhaphy
-Omental flap to cover the laceration
- Debridement
• Lobar Resection
• Liver Transplantation
• Ligate or repair damaged blood vessels & bile
duct
• Mortality of liver injury is 10%
41.
42.
43. Pancreatic Injury
• Rare 10-20% of all abdominal injury
• Crush , Direct blow to abdo & Seat belt injury
• Associated with abdo. Duodenal injury, Vascular
injury & liver injury
• Diagnosis – Difficult, High index of suspicion
• CECT Scan is helpful
• Serum amylase is a poor indicator
• Usually diagnose on Laparotomy
• Distal Pancreatic injury - Distal resection
• Pancreaticojejunostomy – Injury to Ampulla of
Vater, Head & Body of Pancreas
45. Renal Injury
• Clinically not suspected & frequently overlooked
• Mechanism: Blunt , Penetrating
# lower ribs or spinous process,
Crush abdominal
Pelvic injury
Direct blow to flank or back
Fall
MVA
47. Renal Injury
Diagnosis (contd.)
5.X-ray KUB
IVP
7. USG
6.CT Scan abdomen
8. Radionuclide Scan
The degree of hematuria may not predict the
severity of renal injury
49. Renal Injury
.
Classification of Injury
• Grade I : Contusion or Subcapsular
Hematoma
• Grade II: Non Expanding Hematoma, <1
cm deep ,no extravasation
• Grade III: Laceration >1cm with urinary
Extravasation
• Grade IV: Parenchymal Laceration deep to
CM Junction
• Grade V: Renovascular injury
50.
51. Management of Renal Injury
About 85% of blunt renal trauma can be
manage by conservatively
Renal Contusion : Conservatively
Renal exploration : Indication
• Deep cortico-medullary Laceration with
extravasation
• Large perinephric Hematoma
• Renovascular injury
• Uncontrolled bleeding
Before Nephrectomy ,Contralateral
Kidney should be assessed
52. Diaphragmatic Injury
• Incidence -0.8%-1.6% in BTA
• High index of suspicion required , may be
missed.
• 40 to 50% are diagnosed immediately
• Presentation may be delayed
• Imaging
Nasogastric tube seen in the thorax
Abdominal contents in the thorax
Elevated hemidiaphragm (>4 cm Lt vs Rt)
Distortion of diaphragmatic margin.
• Lt- 69% , Rt -24% B/L- 15%
53. Diaphragm Rupture /Hernia
• S Lal, Y Kailasia , S Chouhan , APS Gaharwar, GP Shrivastava . Delayed
presentation of post traumatic diaphragmatic hernia. JSCR 2011. 7:6
54.
55. Diaphragm Rupture /Hernia
S Lal, Y Kailasia, S Chouhan, APS Gaharwar, GP Shrivastava. Delayed presentation of
post traumatic diaphragmatic hernia. JSCR 2011. 7:6
56. Hollow Viscus Injuries
Gastric Injury : Penetrating trauma MC
Blunt trauma abdomen 1%
Causes
Penetrating Injury
-Crushing Against the Spine
-CPR
-Vigorous Ventilation with ET Tube in the Esophagus
-Heimlich Maneuver
Diagnosis : X-Ray chest & Abdomen
CT scan
Diagnostic Peritoneal Lavage
During Surgical Exploration
T/t : Expl. Laparotomy with Primary Repair
57. Hollow Viscus Injuries (Contd.)
Duodenum
Isolated Duodenum injury rare Incidence - 3-5%
Cause :Penetrating injury: mc
Steering wheel injury
Assault
Fall
Associated with other intra-abdominal injury
Diagnosis:
Plan X-ray –Free air in abdomen
-Intraoperative diagnosis
Rx : Primary Repair 80% case
Roux-en –Y duodenojejunostomy 20%
58. Hollow Viscus Injuries
Small Intestine& Colonic Injuries
Commonly Injured in Penetrating injury
Blunt Trauma -Incidence 5% -20%
Mechanism : -Crush Injury
-At Fixed point DJ & IC Junction
Rx : Exploratory Laprotomy
59. Bladder Injury
• Commonly in BTA
• 70% of bladder Injury are associated with pelvic fracture .
• Hematuria
Type 1.Extraperitoneal Rupture-by bony fragment
• 2. Intraperitoneal Rupture- at dome
when blow in distended bladder
• Diagnosis -1. Clinical 2. Cystography
T/t 1. Intraperitoneal –trans-peritoneal - closure +SPC
2:Extraperitoneal Rupture : Foley‟s catheter -10 -14 days
60. Ureteral Injury
• Uncommon
• Mostly occur after penetrating trauma
• Associated with concomitant intra-abdominal or
genitourinary injury
• Diagnosis
-IVP
-15-20% Retrograde ureteroscopy
- At the time of Laparotomy
• Operative procedure
Proximal & mid ureter -End to end Anastomosis over
DJ Stent
Distal –Ureteric Reimplantaion
61. Vascular Injury
• Incidence 5-10%
• Highly lethal.
• Associated with extremely rapid rates of blood
loss
• Exposure is difficult in Laparotomy
• Initial Control by digital pressure
• Heparinized saline (50U/ml) injected in both end
of vessel
• Rx Lateral suture ,End to end Anastomosis &
Interposition graft
• Mortality rate is very high
62. Trauma in Pregnancy
• Incidence- 10-20%
• Causes: 1.Domestic violence
2.Sexual Assault 3. Accident
• Third trimester- mc- balance & coordination disturbed
• Multidisciplinary team- Obstetrician, surgeon, and
neonatologist
• Peritoneal sign are delayed
• “Supine hypotensive syndrome” > 20 weeks‟ gestation.
COMPLICATIONS
• Fetal Injury & Death –fetoplacental injury, maternal shock,
• Placental Abruption
• Rupture of Uterus
64. Penetrating Abdominal Trauma
• Patients with deep penetrating injuries always require surgery
• Common Organs –Small int.(29%) liver(28%) Colon(23%)
66. Penetrating Abdominal Trauma(Contd.)
• Multiple in 20% of cases
• Most stab wounds do not cause an
intraperitoneal injury
• A complete Laparotomy is
mandatory
69. Stab wound to right lower quadrant with caecal
evisceration. No colon injury at laparotomy
70. Penetrating Abdominal Trauma(Contd.)
Abdominal Evisceration
• Never try to replace organs
• Cover with moist gauze, then
sterile dressing.
• Transport immediately
71. Gunshot Injury
• Handguns, Rifles, and Shotgun
• More dangerous than penetrating injury
• The degree of injury depends .
Amount of kinetic energy imparted by the bullet to the
victim
Mass of the bullet and the square of its velocity
Distance .
• Injury multiple organ
72. Injury Prevention
1.Primary: Prevent an injury from its occurrence in
the first place: Educational activity such as anti-
drink-driving campaigns , speed limit rule
-Children should accompanied with parent
2.Secondary: Attempts to lesson the consequences
of injury – making road & safer car, anti-locking
brakes, air bags , helmets, seat belt
3. Tertiary: Minimize the effect of injury by health
care by individuals & system.
73. Injury Prevention (Contd.)
• Speed is a critical factor ; a 10% increase
speed translate into a 40% rise in the case
fatality rate.
• Use of seat belt reduces the risk of death or
serious injury by 45%.
• Air Bags reduces the risk of fatal injury by 30%
& deaths by 11 %.
• Children Below 12yrs should be properly
restraints in the back seat.
• Motorcycle experience death rate 35 time
greater than car.
74. Summary
• Injuries are Preventable
• Trauma is a massive & growing health burden
worldwide ,which increasingly afflicts the young &
productive age group.
• Repeated assessment is required to make the diagnosis
• Ultrasonography and peritoneal aspiration are rapid
methods of determining or excluding the presence of
Hemoperitoneum
• Conservative approach in Liver & Renal Injury
• Successful m/m of trauma requires integration of
Prehospital ,in-hospital ,& rehabilitative care.