Accuracy of Computed Tomography in Diagnosis of Intra-abdominal Injuries in Stable Patients With Anterior Abdominal Stab Wounds: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Firearm injury to the left buttock with uterus penetrating trauma

A multispecialty trauma team must provide care for pelvic gunshot wounds (PGW) due to the high risk of associated morbidity and mortality, the high density of organs that might be wounded within the pelvis, and the potential consequences of these complicated injuries. We present a case of a 59-year-old woman hemodynamically stable with firearm injury to the left buttock. CT examination showed free air in the peritoneal cavity and in the retroperitoneum and a focal contrast extravasation within the uterine fundus. The patient underwent urgent laparotomy that revealed triple bowel perforation (sigmoid colon, medium rectum, ileum) and a laceration of the posterior and anterior uterine wall at level of the cervix with no signs of active bleeding. The bullet was lodged above the peritoneal reflection, in the right pelvis, and it was removed, and handed over to the judicial authority. The perforated bowel segments were resected with Hartmann's procedure and ileal anastomosis. The uterine laceration was repaired. Although all the viscera and the structures along the trajectory can be harmed, pelvic gunshot wounds have the potential to inflict serious injury. Nongravid uterine traumas are a unique occurrence, and proper care requires an understanding of lesion grading. Finding the gynecological lesion in female patients is essential to receiving the best care and protecting the reproductive system.

Intestinal Injury After Suprapubic Catheterisation: A Scoping Review

Suprapubic catheterisation (SPC) is a commonly performed urological procedure. Although it is generally safe, SPC-induced bowel injury is a rare but morbid complication. It is described in the literature, but management consensus is lacking. A scoping review was conducted assessing existing literature regarding the management of intestinal injury. The review highlighted that bowel perforation, particularly involving the small bowel and terminal ileum, is the commonest SPC-related bowel injury type. Depending on the severity of the injury and the patients' condition, various management strategies, ranging from exploratory laparotomy to less invasive techniques like laparoscopic intervention, are documented. Despite the introduction of preventive measures, such as ultrasound guidance, intestinal injury occurs. SPC-associated bowel injury is a serious but rare complication despite available preventative measures. Its management varies and depends on the part of the bowel injured and its severity. This review highlights reported management strategies specific to this injury and a literature summary to aid future quality improvement on the topic.

ACR Appropriateness Criteria® Penetrating Torso Trauma

This document assesses the appropriateness of various imaging studies for acute penetrating trauma to the torso. Penetrating trauma most commonly occurs from gunshots and stabbings, although any object can impale the patient. Anatomic location, type of penetrating trauma, and hemodynamic status are among the many important factors when deciding upon if, what, and when imaging is needed to further evaluate the patient. Imaging plays a critical role in the management of these patients. CT, in particular, aids in identifying and predicting internal injuries based upon trajectory of the object. Clinical variants are distinguished by ballistic versus nonballistic injuries, hemodynamic status, and compartment of the body injured. Ballistic trauma trajectory is less predictable, and imaging recommendations are adjusted for this unpredictability. Excluded from this document are penetrating traumatic injuries to pediatric patients and specific recommendations when the genitourinary system is clinically suspected to be injured, the latter of which is more specifically discussed in other Appropriateness Criteria documents. The American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria are evidence-based guidelines for specific clinical conditions that are documented annually by a multidisciplinary expert panel. The guideline development and revision process support the systematic analysis of the medical literature from peer documented journals. Established methodology principles such as Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation or GRADE are adapted to evaluate the evidence. The RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method User Manual provides the methodology to determine the appropriateness of imaging and treatment procedures for specific clinical scenarios. In those instances where peer documented literature is lacking or equivocal, experts may be the primary evidentiary source available to formulate a recommendation.

Radiologic Imaging of Traumatic Bowel and Mesenteric Injuries: A Comprehensive Up-to-Date Review

Diagnosing bowel and mesenteric trauma poses a significant challenge to radiologists. Although these injuries are relatively rare, immediate laparotomy may be indicated when they occur. Delayed diagnosis and treatment are associated with increased morbidity and mortality; therefore, timely and accurate management is essential. Additionally, employing strategies to differentiate between major injuries requiring surgical intervention and minor injuries considered manageable via non-operative management is important. Bowel and mesenteric injuries are among the most frequently overlooked injuries on trauma abdominal computed tomography (CT), with up to 40% of confirmed surgical bowel and mesenteric injuries not reported prior to operative treatment. This high percentage of falsely negative preoperative diagnoses may be due to several factors, including the relative rarity of these injuries, subtle and non-specific appearances on CT, and limited awareness of the injuries among radiologists. To improve the awareness and diagnosis of bowel and mesenteric injuries, this article provides an overview of the injuries most often encountered, imaging evaluation, CT appearances, and diagnostic pearls and pitfalls. Enhanced diagnostic imaging awareness will improve the preoperative diagnostic yield, which will save time, money, and lives.

Clinical decision making for abdominal stab wounds in high resourced but low volume centres require structured guidelines to be effective

Aim

The management of abdominal stab wounds (SW) has continued to evolve. The use of CT and laparoscopy has been advocated to reduce the rate of laparotomy. This study reviews our experience with SW in a high income, low volume setting.

Methods

A retrospective study was undertaken from 2006 to 2020 at Waikato Hospital, New Zealand. All adult patients age > 16 years that were admitted following trauma were included.

Results

Seventy three cases of SW were included. Thirty two cases had indications for immediate laparotomy (peritonitis in 15, hemodynamic instability in 13, evisceration in 4). Twenty two underwent immediate laparotomy. Overall, 43 had a positive laparotomy. One had a negative laparotomy. Thirty seven cases had a CT. Laparoscopy was performed in 24 cases, with 23 demonstrating peritoneal breach. Subsequently 9 were converted to laparotomy whilst 15 had full laparoscopic exploration.

Conclusion

The relative rarity of abdominal SW in our environment has resulted in a considerable degree of heterogeneity in our approach to this clinical dilemma. The simplified algorithm we have developed will hopefully facilitate clinical decision making in our institution.

Diagnostic utility of CT for abdominal injury in the military setting: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

It is critical to accurately identify patients with abdominal injury who truly need to undergo laparotomy during the war in timely fashion. The diagnostic utility of computed tomography (CT) for evaluating abdominal injury in the military setting remains uncertain.

METHODS

PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases were searched. Meta-analyses were performed by using a random-effect model. We pooled the area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curves with standard errors, the Q indexes with standard errors, the sensitivities with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), the specificities with 95% CIs, the positive likelihood ratios with 95% CIs, the negative likelihood ratios with 95% CIs, and the diagnostic odds ratios with 95% CIs. The heterogeneity among studies were evaluated by the I2 and P value.

RESULTS

Overall, 5 retrospective studies were included. The area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.9761 ± 0.0215 and the Q index was 0.9302 ± 0.0378. The pooled sensitivity was 0.97 (95% CI = 0.92-0.99) without a significant heterogeneity among studies (I2 = 0%, P = .4538). The pooled specificity was 0.95 (95% CI = 0.93-0.97) with a significant heterogeneity among studies (I2 = 90.6%, P < .0001). The pooled positive likelihood ratio was 10.71 (95% CI: 2.91-39.43) with a significant heterogeneity among studies (I2 = 89.2%, P < .0001). The pooled negative likelihood ratio was 0.07 (95% CI = 0.02-0.27) with a significant heterogeneity among studies (I2 = 57.5%, P = .0516). The pooled diagnostic odds ratio was 177.48 (95% CI = 18.09-1741.31) with a significant heterogeneity among studies (I2 = 75.9%, P = .0023).

CONCLUSION

Diagnostic accuracy of CT for abdominal injury is excellent in the military setting. Further work should explore how to shrink CT equipment for a wider use in wartime.

Evaluation of diagnostic laparoscopy for penetrating abdominal injuries: About 131 anterior abdominal stab wound

BACKGROUND

The management of hemodynamically stable patients with anterior abdominal stab wounds (AASW) is debated. Mini-invasive techniques using laparoscopy and non-operative management (NOM) have reduced the rate of nontherapeutic laparotomies after AASW leading to unnecessary morbidity. The aim of this study was to determine with a systematic diagnostic laparoscopy of peritoneal penetration (PP), patients who do not require abdominal exploration in the management of stable patient with an AASW.

METHODS

All patients with AASW were retrospectively recorded from 2006 to 2018. Criteria of inclusion were AASW patients who underwent a systematic diagnostic laparoscopy. Criteria of exclusion were patients with an evisceration, impaling, clinical peritonitis, and hemodynamic instability. If no PP was detected, laparoscopy was terminated. If defects of peritoneum were found, a laparotomy was performed looking for diagnosis and treatment of intra-abdominal injuries.

RESULTS

On 131 AASW patients, 35 underwent immediate emergency laparotomy, 96 underwent diagnostic laparoscopy, 47 were positive (PP) and had an intra-abdominal exploration by laparotomy, 32 (68.1%) had intra-abdominal injuries which required treatment. All patients with an intra-abdominal injury had a positive diagnostic laparoscopy. For the 49 patients with a negative laparoscopy, the mean hospital stay was 1.6 days with ambulatory care for some patients. No patient presented a delayed injury. Non-therapeutic laparotomy rate was 15.6%. For patients who did not have an intra-abdominal injury the morbidity rate was low (3%).

CONCLUSION

Our study shows that diagnostic laparoscopy was safe, with a low duration of hospitalization, a possible ambulatory care and had an excellent ability to screen the patients who did not need a abdominal exploration. This management can avoid many unnecessary laparotomies with an acceptable rate of negative laparotomy, without any delayed diagnosis of intra-abdominal injuries and with a low morbidity rate.

Utility of enteric contrast material in abdominal penetrating trauma: A narrative review

Penetrating trauma is an important cause of morbidity and mortality. With the possibility of conservative management for hemodynamically stable trauma patient, computed tomography (CT) has become an important tool in diagnosis and management of penetrating trauma. There have been multiple studies examining the utility and lack of perceived benefit of using enteric contrast material in the initial CT evaluation. We provide a narrative review of the surgical and radiological literature, offer our own protocol for how to approach the imaging of patients with suspected bowel injury following penetrating traumatic injury and discuss the potential of using enteric contrast material.

Time to surgery: Is it truly crucial in initially stable patients with penetrating injury?

BACKGROUND

Treatment recommendations for patients with penetrating abdominal injury are well established. Trauma victims with clear indications for surgery, should undergo immediate operative intervention without any delay or additional imaging. However, the optimal time for surgery remains unclear. There are some significant advantages in preoperative abdominal CT, including gathering essential information regarding a few difficult to reach anatomical areas, avoiding unnecessary explorations associated with increased morbidity and assessing the existence of extra-abdominal injuries that may have non-expectable impact on initial therapeutic plan. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of "time-to-surgery" on final medical outcomes in patients with penetrating abdominal trauma with normal blood pressure on admission.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study using the Israeli National Trauma Registry was conducted from 2000- 2018. This study included trauma patients with penetrating injuries and a systolic blood pressure of 90mmHg or above on admission. All patients included in the study were divided into three groups according to the time that lapsed from their admission to surgery: half an hour, an hour, and two hours. We assessed the outcome for each patient, including length of hospital stay, need for intensive care and mortality. Statistical analysis was performed using the Chi-square test, ANOVA test. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

The study included 1,136 penetrating trauma patients. Among these, 78.0% (886) had sustained low-energy penetrating injury (SWPI) and 22.0% (250) had sustained high-energy penetrating injury (FAPI). Males accounted for 93.5% (1,062) of the patients. Mean age was 30.4. About 29% (327) of all the patients underwent surgery within 30 minutes from admission, 42% (475) within 30-60 min, and 29% (334) patients were operated within one to two hours. Patients who underwent surgery within 30 minutes, had worse ISS and GCS scores and were, therefore, more likely to have worse clinical outcomes. No other differences in outcomes were found in patients who were operated upon within 2 hours.

CONCLUSIONS

Time to surgery within two hours from admission has no impact on final outcomes in trauma patients with penetrating injury and normal blood pressure on admission.

Traumatic hollow viscus and mesenteric injury: role of CT and potential diagnostic-therapeutic algorithm

Despite its rarity, traumatic hollow viscus and mesenteric injury (HVMI) have high mortality and complication rates. There is no consensus regarding its best management. Our aim is to evaluate contrast enhanced CT (ceCT) in the screening of HVMI and its capability to assess the need for surgery. All trauma patients admitted to an urban Level 1 trauma center between 2010 and 2018 were retrospectively evaluated. Patients with ceCT scan prior to laparotomy were included. Patients requiring surgical repair of HVMI and a ceCT scan consistent with HVMI were considered true positives. Six ceCT scan criteria for HVMI were used; at least one criterion was considered positive for HVMI. Sensitivity (Sn), specificity (Sp), predictive values (PV), likelihood ratios (LR) and accuracy (Ac) of ceCT of single ceCT criteria and of the association of ceCT criteria were calculated using intraoperative findings as gold standard. Therapeutic time (TT), death probability (DP), and observed mortality (OM) were described. 114 of 4369 patients were selected for ceCT accuracy analysis; 47 were considered true positives. Sn of ceCT for HVMI was 97.9%, Sp 63.6%, PPV 66.2%, NPV 97.6%, + LR 2.69, −LR 0.03, Ac 78%; no single criterion stood out. The association of four or more criteria improved ceCT Sp to 98.5%, PPV to 95.6%, + LR to 30.5. Median TT was 2 h (IQR: 1–3 h). OM was 7.8%—not significantly higher than overall OM. CeCT in trauma has become a reliable screening test for HVMI and a valid exam to select HVMI patients for surgical exploration.

Systematic Sonography Looking for Occult Wounds: accuracy of an abdominal ultrasound adjunct in penetrating trauma

BACKGROUND

Systematic Sonography Looking for Occult Wounds (SSLOW) in trauma is a novel technique for the evaluation of intra-abdominal wounds in penetrating trauma. No data exist regarding the effectiveness. The objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the SSLOW exam.

METHODS

This is a prospective collected case series conducted over a period of 10 months and took place at the Accident and Emergency Department (A&E) of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). The study enrolled patients presenting to the A&E who were 16 years old or greater with penetrating abdominal trauma. All patients with penetrating trauma received an E-FAST examination. If the E-FAST examination was negative, a SSLOW examination was completed. The sonographer evaluated for free fluid collection between the loops of bowel. The results of the SSLOW were compared to usual care (surgery consult, serial abdominal and E-FAST exams, laparotomy, and 7-day follow-up) and then categorized into four groups: true positive, false positive, true negative, and false negative. These results lead to four categorical values. From these results, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and likelihood ratios were calculated.

RESULTS

There were 5 (12%) true positives, 1 (2%) false positive, 37 (86%) true negatives, and zero (0%) false negative. The SSLOW was 100% sensitive (95% CI 5-100%) and 97% specificity (95% CI 74-96%). There was an 80% positive predictive value (95% CI 1.0-64% 95% CI) and 100% negative predictive value (95% CI 88-100%). The positive likelihood ratio was 8.4 (95% CI 3.69-19.1) and negative likelihood ratio was 0.

CONCLUSION

The SSLOW examination may be a useful tool in the evaluation of penetrating abdominal injuries.

Does computed tomography scan add any diagnostic value to the evaluation of stab wounds of the anterior abdominal wall? A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate whether computed tomography (CT) scan adds any diagnostic value in the evaluation of stab wounds of the anterior abdominal wall as compared with serial clinical examination (SCE).

METHODS

PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and MEDLINE via Ovid were systematically searched for records published from 1980 to 2018 by two independent researchers (M.G., R.L.). Quality assessment, data extraction, and analysis were performed according to the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Mantel-Haenszel method with odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) as the measure of effect size was used for meta-analysis.

RESULTS

Three studies (1 randomized controlled trial and 2 observational studies) totaling 319 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Overall laparotomy rate was 12.8% (22 of 172 patients) in SCE versus 19% (28 of 147 patients) in CT. This difference was not significant (OR [95% CI], 0.63 [0.34-1.16]; p = 0.14). Negative laparotomy rate was 3.5% (6 of 172 patients) in SCE versus 5.4% (8 of 147 patients) in CT. The difference was not significant (OR [95% CI], 0.61 [0.20-1.83]; p = 0.37).

CONCLUSION

This meta-analysis compared SCE with CT scan in patients presenting with stab wounds of the anterior abdominal wall and provided level II evidence showing no additional benefit in CT scan. Further observational and experimental clinical studies are needed to confirm the findings of this meta-analysis.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Systematic review and meta-analysis, level II.

CT tractography in anterior abdominal stab wounds: a proposed algorithm

PURPOSE

This study evaluates the accuracy of IV contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) tractography in the detection of peritoneal violation in anterior abdominal stab wounds (AASW) and its impact on the management algorithm.

METHODS

This prospective study included 61 patients who presented to Kasr Alainy Hospital with AASW. According to the IV contrast-enhanced CT tractography, they were classified into penetrating, equivocal and non-penetrating injuries. The former two were subjected to diagnostic laparoscopy (DL), while the non-penetrating group was subjected to serial abdominal examination (SAE). The accuracy of CT tractography to detect peritoneal violation was assessed by correlating its findings with management outcome.

RESULTS

CT tractography stratified the injuries into non penetrating (54.1%), equivocal (14.8%) and penetrating (31.1%). All non-penetrating stabs were managed successfully by SAE. DL proved negative for peritoneal violation in all equivocal injuries and positive in all injuries designated as penetrating. Consequently, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and accuracy of CT tractography in detecting peritoneal violation was 100%. No missed injuries were encountered in this study.

CONCLUSION

IV contrast-enhanced CT tractography is an effective tool in the evaluation of patients with AASW. Patients with negative tractography can be safely managed by SAE. Positive tractography accurately indicates peritoneal violation which warrants further management. Patients with equivocal findings were all negative for peritoneal violation by laparoscopy, therefore, they might be reallocated for frequent SAE to reduce the rate of non-therapeutic interventions.

Early management of severe abdominal trauma

OBJECTIVE

To develop French guidelines on the management of patients with severe abdominal trauma.

DESIGN

A consensus committee of 20 experts from the French Society of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine (Société française d'anesthésie et de réanimation, SFAR), the French Society of Emergency Medicine (Société française de médecine d'urgence, SFMU), the French Society of Urology (Société française d'urologie, SFU) and from the French Association of Surgery (Association française de chirurgie, AFC), the Val-de-Grâce School (École du Val-De-Grâce, EVG) and the Federation for Interventional Radiology (Fédération de radiologie interventionnelle, FRI-SFR) was convened. Declaration of all conflicts of interest (COI) policy by all participants was mandatory throughout the development of the guidelines. The entire guideline process was conducted independently of any industry funding. The authors were advised to follow the principles of the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system for assessment of the available level of evidence with particular emphasis to avoid formulating strong recommendations in the absence of high level. Some recommendations were left ungraded.

METHODS

The guidelines are divided in diagnostic and, therapeutic strategy and early surveillance. All questions were formulated according to Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcomes (PICO) format. The panel focused on three questions for diagnostic strategy: (1) What is the diagnostic performance of clinical signs to suggest abdominal injury in trauma patients? (2) Suspecting abdominal trauma, what is the diagnostic performance of prehospital FAST (Focused Abdominal Sonography for Trauma) to rule in abdominal injury and guide the prehospital triage of the patient? and (3) When suspecting abdominal trauma, does carrying out a contrast enhanced thoraco-abdominal CT scan allow identification of abdominal injuries and reduction of mortality? Four questions dealt with therapeutic strategy: (1) After severe abdominal trauma, does immediate laparotomy reduce morbidity and mortality? (2) Does a "damage control surgery" strategy decrease morbidity and mortality in patients with a severe abdominal trauma? (3) Does a laparoscopic approach in patients with abdominal trauma decrease mortality or morbidity? and (4) Does non-operative management of patients with abdominal trauma without bleeding reduce mortality and morbidity? Finally, one question was formulated regarding the early monitoring of these patients: In case of severe abdominal trauma, which kind of initial monitoring does allow to reduce the morbi-mortality? The analysis of the literature and the recommendations were conducted following the GRADE® methodology.

RESULTS

The SFAR/SFMU Guideline panel provided 15 statements on early management of severe abdominal trauma. After three rounds of discussion and various amendments, a strong agreement was reached for 100% of recommendations. Of these recommendations, five have a high level of evidence (Grade 1±), six have a low level of evidence (Grade 2±) and four are expert judgments. Finally, no recommendation was provided for one question.

CONCLUSIONS

Substantial agreement exists among experts regarding many strong recommendations for the best early management of severe abdominal trauma.

Abdominal stab wound injury in children: Do we need a different approach?

BACKGROUND

Penetrating stab wounds in children are relatively rare and no clear recommendations for the optimal evaluation have been devised. An acceptable traditional approach to the patient with an abdominal stab wound who does not require urgent surgery is selective nonoperative management and serial exams. The use of routine computed tomography remains an actively utilized investigation for these patients at many institutions.

PURPOSE

We hypothesize that the approach to pediatric stab wound victims should be distinctly different than that of adult counterparts in order to minimize radiation exposure.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study involving abdominal stab wounds among pediatric trauma patients (age < 14) compared with adults between the years 1997 and 2016 was conducted utilizing the Israeli National Trauma Registry.

RESULTS

A total of 92 children and 4444 adults were identified from the registry for inclusion. Among the children 20 (21.7%) patients had intraabdominal injury compared to 1730 (38.9%) among adult counterparts. Four children were hemodynamically unstable, two of them were referred directly to operating room and two others were treated without surgery. Among the remaining 88 children there was no observed mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

The majority of pediatric stab wounds trauma victims have minor abdominal injuries. We do not recommend the routine utilization of abdominal CT scan in the evaluation of abdominal stab wounds. Observation with serial exams and minimization of radiation exposure from CT are warranted in this unique population.

TYPE OF STUDY

Retrospective comparative study.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

3.