ABSTRACT
Blunt injury to abdomen is one of the most common injury caused by road traffic accidents. The advent of newer imaging techniques with high resolution computed tomography scanners (CT scan) has enabled the clinicians to exactly diagnose the extent of the intra abdominal injuries. High grade injuries are commonly managed by surgery but the shift to selective non operative management (NOM) of blunt injuries to abdominal solid organs are one of the most notable trends in the case of trauma. Methods: This study was conducted on 50 patients of blunt abdominal trauma admitted in Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, attached to Govt. Medical College, Amritsar. Patients of all age groups with blunt trauma abdomen were admitted in hospital. Results: In the present study, most common age group affected was 21-40 years (70%); out of which males were more commonly affected (90%); most common mode of injury was road traffic accident accounting for 76% of patients of all age groups. In this study, 2 out of 13 patients expired who were kept on NOM due to liver injuries. Failure to resuscitate these patients was the main cause of mortality. 4 out of 12 operative cases expired. Most common organ injured was liver (50%) followed by spleen (36%). Other organs injured were pancreas and kidney, 6% each. Mortality rate in patients who were receiving NOM was 5.26% while patients who received operative management had mortality rate of 33.3%. Conclusion: Morbidity and mortality can be prevented by timely initial resuscitation and correct diagnosis as well as management (non operative or operative) which depends on patient’s hemodynamic stability and findings of imaging studies.