ABSTRACT
Objective: To determine the predictive value of repeated abdominal ultrasonography in patients with multiple trauma and decreased level of consciousness [LOC]
Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted over a six-month period at Shahid Rajaee Trauma Hospital, Shiraz, Iran. We included hemodynamically stable blunt abdominal trauma patients with a decreased LOC [Glasgow Coma Scale
Results: Overall 80 patients with mean age of 37.75 +/- 18.67 years were included. There were 17 [21.3%] women and 63 [78.8%] men among the patients. Compared with the CT-Scan, the first ultrasonography showed a sensitivity of 60%, specificity of 80%, PPV of 16.60%, NPV of 96.80%, and a diagnostic accuracy of 70%. The same values for the second ultrasonographic study were 80%, 79%, 20%, 98%, and 79%, respectively. In 4 [5%] patients whose first ultrasonography and CT scan results were negative, the second ultrasonography was positive for injury
Conclusion: In patients with blunt trauma to the abdomen, when the only indication of abdominal CT scan is a decreased LOC, two ultrasonographic studies can replace a CT imaging