Adrenal injuries following blunt abdominal trauma in children: Report of two cases

Abstract

Adrenal injuries following blunt abdominal trauma are uncommon. Adrenal hemorrhage in children associated with multiple organ injury, which has received little attention in the past, is an increasingly recognized phenomenon in modern trauma centers with the widespread use of abdominal computed tomography. Adrenal trauma occurs in the setting of multisystem organ injury. Isolated adrenal injury is exceedingly rare. We report two children with blunt adrenal trauma (one isolated and one with associated injuries), who were admitted during the last two years to our Pediatric Surgery Department after abdominal trauma. We determined the prevalence, management and general prognosis of blunt adrenal injury in the pediatric population. Traumatic adrenal hemorrhage appears to be an incidental and unsuspected finding that resolves on follow-up imaging.