ABSTRACT
Background: Management of liver trauma earlier used to be primarily surgical. With advancement in diagnostic modalities it has gradually shifted to non operative management. Methods: The present study was conducted on 40 patients with severe hepatic injuries (grade 3 onwards). All the patients were compared in terms of various methods adopted for their management and their clinical outcomes Results: Out of a total of 40 patients, maximum numbers of patients were in age group 18-24 years. 82.50 % patients had grade IV and rest had Grade V. 12 patients presented with shock on admission. Failure of NOM (non operative management) was seen in 25% of cases . The average requirement of blood transfusion in our study was 2.157 1.74 units. Average hospital stay in successful NOM cases was lower than in failed NOM. A total of 6 patients had to be operated upon in our study. Active bleed was seen on laparotomy in four patients with no evidence of any injury causing peritonitis. Conclusion: The success rates of non-operative management were significantly higher than the failures rates of non-operative management, without any significant incidence of complications and delayed laparotomies. Grade of liver injury or the amount of hemoperitoneum as detected on CT scan did not influence the outcome of non-operative management. Non-operative management is thus the gold standard in hemo-dynamically stable patients.