Non-operative treatment of 1,768 patients with lesions in the abdominal massive viscerae caused by blunt trauma, tended at the João XXIII Hospital

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Objectives: to analyze the results obtained with the implementation of the non-operative treatment protocol (TNO) for blunt abdominal trauma in the Joao XXIII Hospital (HJXXIII). Methods: this was a retrospective study of patients submitted to TNO, victims of blunt abdominal trauma and tended at the HJXXIII, between November of 2004 and December of 2013. Results: a total of 1,768 patients met the inclusion criteria. Seventeen patients (0.99%) presented lesions in the three viscerae, 197 (11.1%) in two viscerae, and 1,554 (87.9%) in one viscera. The 1,768 patients had 1,999 lesions distributed as follows: 790 (39.5%) liver lesions, 761 (38%) splenic, and 448 (22.5%) renal. Failure was 4.3% in liver lesions, Grades II and III lesions were the most frequent - 74.2% of the total. In this group of patients the failure index was not over 2%. Failure was more frequent in Grades IV and V lesions occurring in, respectively, 12.5 and 25% of the patients. TNO failure was 7.9% in splenic lesions, Grades II and III lesions were the most common - 75.3% of the patients. TNO failure was greater in splenic lesions grade III (11.3%) and IV (33.3%). Bleeding was the main cause of failure. Failure was 6.6% in renal lesions. Grades II and III lesions were the most frequent (63.3%). TNO failed in 22.8% of patients with grade IV lesion. Conclusion: the success of TNO depends on the lesion grade, institutional resources, and an inflexible protocol.