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SPLENECTOMY FOR TRAUMA: MORBIDITY, MORTALITY AND ASSOCIATED ABDOMINAL INJURIES
Author(s) -
Pitcher M. E.,
And R. J. Cade,
Mackay J. R.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.111
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1445-2197
pISSN - 0004-8682
DOI - 10.1111/j.1445-2197.1989.tb01611.x
Subject(s) - medicine , splenectomy , abdominal trauma , laparotomy , incidence (geometry) , surgery , blunt , blunt trauma , mortality rate , injury severity score , complication , spleen , retrospective cohort study , splenic disease , injury prevention , poison control , general surgery , emergency medicine , optics , physics
Management of ruptured spleen still frequently requires splenectomy. A retrospective analysis of patients undergoing spleneelomy for trauma at box hill hospital, melbourne, over a 14‐year period was conducted; 141 of 145 cases were due to blunt trauma. The mortality rate was 10% and all deaths occurred as a result of road traffic accidents. The overall complication rale was 43%, varying from 25% in those with an isolated splenic injury to 100% with multiple system injuries. There was zero incidence of associated intra‐abdominal injury in the group sustaining a ruptured spleen as a result of a fall, assault or sporting injury, in contrast to a nearly 50% incidence following road traffic and bicycle accidents. Whether these associated injuries would have been neglected had laparotomy for splenic trauma not been performed is uncertain, and so non‐operative management of splenic trauma remains contentious, particularly in cases following vehicular accidents.