Diagnosis and treatment of abdominal injuries after the Wenchuan earthquake / 中华消化外科杂志

ABSTRACT

After analyzing the clinical data of 5 injured persons diagnosed with delayed spleen or liver rupture combined with fractures after the Wenchuan earthquake, we found that the abdominal injuries in earthquake were rare but usually very severe. Since almost all the injured persons had multiple injuries, mortality was extremely high. First aid service should be applied in the first 6 to 8 hours. Orderly physical examination and peritoneocentesis in multiple sites are in favor of diagnosis. Reducing the missed diagnosis rate of abdominal injuries is important in raising the rate of successful treatment. Therapy for earthquake injuries should be focused on the most deadly injuries after a thorough examination, besides this, precise employment of control surgery, swift transportation of the injured persons, and prevention and dealing with complications are also important.