Author
Abstract
Blunt abdominal trauma may result in multiple severe injuries which make the abdomen difficult
to assess and easy to overlook. Unrecognized intra-abdominal injury is a significant cause of
preventable death in blunt trauma. This study aimed to find the frequency and features of
lapratomy findings for different internal abdominal organs� injuries in patients subjected to blunt
abdominal injury. A total of 450 patients subjected to blunt abdominal trauma were admitted to
the emergency surgical department of Sulaimania Surgical Teaching Hospital following, 140 of
them were decided to undergo exploratory laparotomy depending on their clinical and imaging
findings that suggesting a visceral injury. Thirty one percent of the patients who subjected to
blunt abdominal trauma need exploratory laparotomy, 80.7% of them were male, and 67.9%
were young. The predominant causative factor of blunt abdominal trauma was the motor vehicle
accidents. Spleen and liver were the frequent injured solid organs. Almost all of the patients had
positive laparotomy results. Traumatic head and neck injuries were the most common
associated non abdominal injuries. Morality rate was only 5% while complication rate was only
7%. It is concluded that males at young active productive age are the main persons suffer from
blunt abdominal trauma. This has an important economic impact on the productivity of the
community. Spleen injury being the most commonly intra abdominal solid injured organ followed
by liver, other visceral structures are uncommonly involved.j1
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