Eg. Ford et Mo. Senac, CLINICAL PRESENTATION AND RADIOGRAPHIC IDENTIFICATION OF SMALL-BOWEL RUPTURE FOLLOWING BLUNT TRAUMA IN CHILDREN, Pediatric emergency care, 9(3), 1993, pp. 139-142
The incidence of significant intraabdominal injuries from blunt trauma
in children is low (1-8%); however, a missed intestinal laceration ma
y result in a devastating, if not morbid, consequence. We present retr
ospective case studies of eight children with intestinal lacerations f
ollowing blunt trauma. Each patient has a unique anatomic defect with
misleading initial laboratory and radiographic studies. We did not rin
d a single laboratory or roentgenographic study to be consistently rel
iable for diagnosis of hollow viscus laceration. The combination of a
high index of suspicion and serial abdominal examinations, coupled wit
h subsequent comparative laboratory and radiographic evaluations, prov
ed most reliable in identifying patients with intestinal injury.