4. Acknowledgements
Lori Gurien, MD
Phyllis Hendry, MD, FAAP, FACEP
Anne Dziwulski, BSN, RN, CSTR
Shameka King, BSN, RN, CCRN
David Meysenburg, BSN, RN, TCRN
Julia Paul, MSN, ARNP
David Skarupa, MD, FACS
Lisa Teel, MSN, RN, CPEN
Todd Wylie, MD, MPH
Brian Yorkgitis, DO
5. Objectives
Discuss prediction rules that identify children at
low-risk for intraabdominal injuries
Review UF-Jax algorithm for pediatric blunt
abdominal trauma
6. Scenario
You are on trauma call
EMS: “a high speed crash on the
interstate 95 and you will be
receiving 2 patients.”
You: “OK. Proceed.”
7. Scenario
EMS: “You will receive 1 adult
and 1 child. There is severe
damage to the vehicle and it
was a prolonged extrication to
get both of the victims out of
the car.”
8. Scenario: Adult Patient 1
47 yo restrained driver who is reported to be
intoxicated.
Vitals: GCS 14; BP 116/76; P 106 RR 20
Exam:
Abrasion on the left chest from the shoulder to the
RUQ of the abdomen.
Abdomen is soft but distended.
Left femur is deformed and normal distal pulses in
the foot.
11. Whole body CT scan results in
lower mortality
Caputo ND, et al. J Trauma ACS. 2015
12. Odds ratio (OR) for Mortality Following Whole-body CT
Caputo ND, et al. J Trauma ACS. 2015
13. Scenario: Child Patient 2
10 yo restrained front seat passenger. The
patient was wearing a lap and shoulder belt.
The patient had a LOC for several minutes.
The patient has the following vital signs:
Vitals: GCS 13; BP 108/68; P 114; RR 22
Exam:
Abdomen is soft and nontender
Abrasion across the right hip.
Open tibia fracture.
26. PECARN
Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research
Network
Created a clinical prediction rule to identify
children at very low risk for intraabdominal
injury requiring intervention
Based on history and physical exam only
27. Prospective, Observational Cohort blunt torso trauma at PECARN
centers
Enrollment: May 2007 – January 2010
Exclusion Criteria:
Injury >24 hours prior to presentation
Pregnancy
Transfer from outside hospital
Penetrating trauma
Preexisting neurologic condition impeding reliable exam
34. Limitations
No FAST exam/Ultrasound utilized
Abd CT/DPL/Laparoscopy not mandated so clinically silent
Intra-Abdominal Injuries may have been missed
Performed at Highly Specialized Pediatric Trauma Centers
38. Five variables in prediction rule
AST > 200
Abnormal abdominal physical examination
Abnormal chest x-ray
Complaint of abdominal pain
Abnormal pancreatic enzymes (amylase or lipase)
39. Prediction rule
Most blunt abdominal injuries in children are nonoperative!
Do we care about identifying any intraabdominal injury?
Or identifying an intraabdominal injury that requires acute intervention?
41. Management of Pediatric Blunt Abdominal Trauma
Primary Survey
Chest/pelvis XR
Observe and reevaluate
in ED
Consider discharge +
FAST#
Observe and reevaluate in ED
Vs
Admit to Trauma service
AST >200, ALT > 125
UA > 5 RBC, Hct <30
Abnormal Lipase/Amylase
Any sign of:
Seatbelt mark/sign
Abdominal abrasions,
bruising, distension or
tenderness
Thoracic wall trauma
AMS or unevaluable
Vomiting >1 time
Surgical consult
20 mL/kg bolus of
isotonic fluids
Surgical consult/Admit
Labs and
observation/reevaluation
Consider CT of abdomen
and pelvis with IV contrast
Surgical consult/Admit
Observation/reevaluation, Repeat labs,
Consider CT of Abdomen and pelvis
with IV contrast
Fluid resuscitation to
max of 60 mL/kg
Consider 10-20 mL/kg
of blood
FAST#
OR
Consider other
sources of
hemorrhage
CT scan with IV
contrast, IR or OR
+ Discharge
criteria: stable VS,
resolution of pain,
negative imaging (if
done), attending
approval
*Hemodynamically
unstable based on
HR, BP, and
capillary refill > 2
sec
Systolic BP < 70 +
(age in years x 2)
Hemodynamically stable *Hemodynamically unstable
StableNo
No
Remains unstable
Positive
Positive
Yes
Yes
Negative
Negative
Excludes abuse and
non-accidental trauma
# sensitivity↓ in children
Updated
January 2018
42. Conclusions
Kids are not little adults
Radiation risk is real
CT can be useful:
Abnormal exam
Abnormal labs
Physical exam & observation can be
appropriate
Editor's Notes
Pediatric Trauma – leading cause of death in children greater than 1 year of age
More than 90% of these injuries are from blunt mechanism
Abdominal CT provides valuable information for both diagnosis and management of intraabdominal injury following blunt abdominal injury
Use of abdominal CT in children has increased significantly over time
CT scans have risks in pediatric patients, specifically radiation-induced malignancy in children
Higher risk in children than in adults due to growing tissues and organs and longer life expectancy
Estimated risk of fatal cancer from radiation:
1/1000 pediatric CT scans
1/500 lifetime risk for abdominal CT in 1 year old
This is the radiation safety principle
3 ways to achieve ALARA
Decrease time
Increase distance
Shielding
How can we identify children at very low risk for intraabdominal injury so we can adopt selective imaging strategies that avoid abdominal CT scans in low-risk patients?
Well – others are already looking into this question
Previous literature or biologic/physiologic plausibility as identifying risks
568/761 (75%) had intraperitoneal fluid – FAST would have potentially caught these patients
PECARN does not take FAST exam, plain films, or lab values into account with its prediction rule
Can be useful at trauma centers with easy access to these resources