Open AccessThe Management of Penetrating Injuries of the Back
Author(s) -
Δημήτριος Δημητριάδης,
Babeth Rabinowitz,
C Sofianos,
D. Charalambides,
John Melissas,
C Hatzitheofilou,
J Da Silva
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
annals of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.153
H-Index - 309
eISSN - 1528-1140
pISSN - 0003-4932
DOI - 10.1097/00000658-198801000-00014
Subject(s) - medicine , laparotomy , physical examination , surgery , general surgery , prospective cohort study , penetrating wounds , injury prevention , poison control , emergency medicine
This is a prospective study of 230 patients with penetrating injuries of the back. The decision to operate or observe was taken exclusively on the abdominal physical findings. One hundred ninety-five patients (85%) did not require operation, 30 (13%) underwent a therapeutic laparotomy, four (1.7%) an unnecessary operation, and one patient (0.4%) had a completely negative laparotomy. The diagnosis and management was delayed in five (2.2%) patients with no serious consequences. Mortality rates were not recorded in this series. The initial physical examination was accurate in 95.2% of the patients. We suggest that penetrating injuries of the back should be assessed in the same way as anterior abdominal injuries. Physical abdominal examination is reliable in detecting significant intra-abdominal injuries.