Survey of abdominal ultrasound and diagnostic peritoneal lavage for suspected intra-abdominal injury following blunt trauma

• Published in: Injury Vol. 29; no. 1; pp. 65 - 71
• Main Authors: Bain, I.M., Kirby, R.M., Tiwari, P., McCaig, J., Cook, A.L., Oakley, P.A., Templeton, J., Braithwaite, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 1998; Elsevier
• Subjects: Abdominal Injuries - diagnosis; Abdominal Injuries - diagnostic imaging; Biological and medical sciences; Humans; Injuries of the abdomen. Foreign bodies of the digestive system; Injury Severity Score; Medical sciences; Peritoneal Lavage; Prospective Studies; Sensitivity and Specificity; Traumas. Diseases due to physical agents; Ultrasonography; Wounds, Nonpenetrating - complications; Wounds, Nonpenetrating - diagnostic imaging; Sonography; Human; Contusion; Washing; Trauma; Abdomen; Sensitivity; Specificity; Abdominal disease; Echography; Complication; Diagnosis; Lesion; Severe; Peritoneum
• ISSN: 0020-1383; 1879-0267
• DOI: 10.1016/S0020-1383(97)00166-6

Over a 3 year period all severely injured blunt trauma patients who were investigated with abdominal ultrasound examinations (AUS) or diagnostic peritoneal lavage (DPL) to exclude intra-abdominal injury were evaluated. The ultrasound examinations were performed by radiologists in 220 severely injured patients (20 of whom also had DPL). The overall sensitivity and specificity of abdominal ultrasound were 82.7% and 99.5%, respectively. The sensitivity increased to 89.1% by repeat scanning. In comparison, 72 DPLs were performed in severely injured patients; the overall sensitivity and specificity of DPL were 82.8% and 97.2%, respectively. DPL resulted in more non-therapeutic laparotomies,
9
25
(36%) compared with
3
23
(13%) with AUS. Abdominal ultrasound is now the first line investigation at this centre for evaluation of possible intra-abdominal injury in injured patients.