A study of blunt injury abdomen in patients attending the emergency department in a tertiary hospital

Abstract

Background: Blunt injury to the abdomen is encountered more often these days due to rapid industrialization and the presence of more number of vehicles, thus leading to more number of accidents. Blunt injury to the abdomen can also occur as a result of fall from height, assault with blunt objects, sports injuries, and bomb blasts. Blunt injury abdomen is seen in increasing frequency in emergency rooms and therefore, the early diagnosis and treatment of the patient is very important. Methods: The study was carried out from July 2012 to June 2015. A total of 60 patients were studied. A thorough history and clinical examination of the patients were carried out. Then, various investigations such as Complete Blood Count (CBC), X-Rays, ultrasound of the abdomen and CT scan of the abdomen were done, in order to arrive at the diagnosis. Results: In our study, male patients were commonly affected (75%). The younger population between the age group of 21 - 30 years were predominantly affected (45%). The common mode of injury was road traffic accidents (53.3%). The organ that was found to be most commonly injured in our study was the spleen (46.6%). Conclusions: This research article shows that, blunt injury abdomen is still a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the general population. Patients that are received in the emergency department of a trauma care center should be given immediate attention and a quick and thorough evaluation of the patient must be done.