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Chapter13 abdominal trauma
1. International Trauma Life Support
for Emergency Care Providers
CHAPTER
eighth edition
International Trauma Life Support for Emergency Care Providers, Eighth Edition
John Campbell • Alabama Chapter, American College of Emergency Physicians
Abdominal Trauma
13
Key Lecture Points
Cover the anatomy of the abdomen.
Stress the importance of the abdomen regarding morbidity and mortality associated with major trauma.
Mention that a distended abdomen is a very late sign of hemorrhage within the abdomen.
Mention that abdominal trauma with shock is a grim finding and must be rapidly managed.
Discuss pelvic fractures and their potential for massive bleeding.
IMAGE: Evisceration.
Important information from scene: Note circumstances surrounding injury.
Accurate but rapid assessment of scene will usually tip you off to possibility of abdominal trauma.
Major cause of preventable death MUST be recognized and treated immediately.
Early recognition and treatment can prevent these deaths.
Hemorrhage has immediate consequences; look for early shock in all abdominal-injury patients.
Infection, which presents late, may be just as deadly.
IMAGE: Figure: 13-1 Thoracic abdomen.
IMAGE: Figure: 13-2 True abdomen.
IMAGE: Figure: 13-3 Retroperitoneal abdomen.
Thoracic abdomen located underneath diaphragm and enclosed by lower ribs, which offer protection
Contains liver, gallbladder, spleen, stomach, and transverse colon
Point out why penetrating injury below 4th intercostal space may have penetrated abdomen.
True abdomen contains small intestines and bladder. Intestinal injury can result in infection, peritonitis, and shock.
In females, uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries are part of pelvic portion of true abdomen.
Retroperitoneal abdomen is located behind thoracic and true abdomen.
Contains kidneys, ureters, pancreas, posterior duodenum, ascending and descending colon, abdominal aorta, and inferior vena cava
Can conceal massive blood loss with little external signs (except shock)
Injury in retroperitoneal produces different symptoms than in true abdomen.
True abdomen can present with distension, tenderness, and tenseness (guarding and rigidity).
Retroperitoneal injury can conceal exsanguinating hemorrhage with no early symptoms.
Can also be a combination of blunt and penetrating
Gunshot wounds have higher mortality (up to 15%), due to higher rates of damage to abdominal viscera.
Stabbings: Approximately one-third require surgery.
Causes of mortality: Hypovolemic shock, injury to abdominal viscera
Sepsis and/or peritonitis are late causes of death.
IMAGE: Interior of a crashed car with deployed and deflated air bag hanging from steering wheel and broken glass scattered on seats. Remember to lift and look!
Scene Size-up and mechanism can provide valuable clues to possible abdominal injury.
Direct compression of abdomen: fracture of solid organs (spleen/liver) and blowout of hollow organs (intestines)
Multiple lower rib fractures—patients notorious for having severe intra-abdominal injuries without significant abdominal pain
Seat-belt sign is a large abrasion over abdomen and/or upper neck.
It is indicative of intra-abdominal injury in approximately 25% of cases.
Penetrating injury often involves uncontrolled hemorrhage. Vigorous fluid administration may only worsen rate of hemorrhage.
Good opportunity to review types of shock
Reference Shock chapter material and fluid management.
IMAGE: Penetrating injury to abdomen
Path of penetrating object might not be readily apparent from wound location.
Any penetrating wound of chest may penetrate abdomen, and vice versa. Bullet may pass through numerous structures in different body locations.
As discussed in Scene Size-up, ballistics information (caliber, velocity, trajectory, range, etc.) contributes to extent of injury and is helpful information.
Gluteal area (iliac crests to gluteal folds, including rectum) is associated with up to a 50% incidence of significant intra-abdominal injuries.
IMAGE: Abdominal palpation
Keep high suspicion—rapid visual evaluation and palpation.
Auscultation or percussion in field loses critical time, and little useful information is gained.
If clothing removed to visualize injury, try to preserve important potential legal evidence by cutting around (rather than through) areas that have signs of possible penetration.
NOTE: SUPPLEMENTAL INSTRUCTOR NOTES ON REFERRED PAIN (This information is not part of chapter content.)
Mechanisms for referred pain are not completely understood, but several methods/causes of referred pain have been identified. Visceral (organ) and somatic (skin, muscle, connective tissue) sensory nerves transmit pain signals to a spinal nerve ganglion where it is then transmitted to spinal cord and then to brain. Visceral pain is usually dull or poorly localized, and somatic pain is usually sharp and well-localized.
Pain stimulation from a sensory nerve (visceral or somatic) that is compressed or damaged at or near its origin can be perceived as originating in additional areas innervated by injured sensory nerve.
Pain stimulation from a damaged intervertebral disc can cause compression on nerve root coming from spinal cord at that level and be felt in additional regions served by compressed nerve.
In addition, visceral pain stimulation can be felt in areas normally innervated by somatic sensory nerves. Visceral and somatic sensory signals converge in spinal cord. Signals from this level of spinal cord can be perceived as originating from somatic nerve: for example, irritation of diaphragm is signaled by phrenic nerve and can be perceived as pain in area above clavicle (Kehr's sign).
NOTE: Timed animation
Interventions should follow priorities established by the ITLS Primary Survey.
They should proceed in the same order in which assessment occurred: (A) airway, (B) breathing, and (C) circulation. (This only changes to CABC if there is obvious severe uncontrolled external hemorrhage.)
The patient should be readied for immediate transport with appropriate SMR. (Penetrating trauma to the abdomen or chest with no signs of neurological deficit should not have SMR because time is extremely critical.)
Once en route to an appropriate facility, establish two large-bore IV lines of normal saline. If the patient's blood pressure drops below 90 mmHg systolic with signs of shock, then the IV fluids should be given at a rate to maintain the systolic blood pressure at 80 to 90 mmHg. (See Chapter 8.) It is thought that aggressive fluid resuscitation might dislodge protective clots and/or dilute clotting factors, both of which lead to worsening hemorrhage.
IMAGE: Figure 13-1-1: Remove clothing.
IMAGE: Figure 13-1-2: Cover wound.
IMAGE: Figure 13-1-3: Cover dressing.
If intestines are allowed to dry, they may become irreversibly damaged.
Flex legs slightly at knees to take pressure off abdominal musculature.
IMAGE: A piece of wood shot out of a planer entered this worker's abdomen. He complains of pain, nausea. He is tachycardic at 120 bpm, and he has peripheral pulses.
Removal or manipulation may precipitate uncontrollable hemorrhage.
Never flex legs with impaled objects—causes additional soft-tissue injuries.
Deciding which patient should be taken to a local community hospital and which should be taken directly to a trauma center can be a difficult decision.
Better tools are needed to distinguish between patients who have injuries that are either not severe or not time critical and will remain stable, and those with a significant mechanism of injury who appear stable initially, and then decompensate later, requiring emergent transfer to a trauma center.
Tests performed quickly in the ambulance or on scene that could help predict which apparently stable patient might deteriorate would be very helpful. Current studies using finger-stick serum lactate levels and studies using abdominal ultrasound in the field (F.A.S.T. exam) show some promise. (See Chapter 2 for more about those studies.)
F.A.S.T.: Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma
