Introduction:

Blunt abdominal trauma can cause severe organ injury with hemorrhage demanding emergent surgical treatment. It is the leading cause of preventable death among all age groups.

Objective:

To assess the clinical-surgical characteristics of patients with blunt abdominal trauma.

Methods:

A descriptive and retrospective observational study was carried out to assess the characteristics of blunt abdominal trauma in 81 patients treated at Roberto Rodríguez Fernández General Provincial Teaching Hospital of Morón from January 2014 to December 2019.

Results:

Young adults represented the predominant age group (34.6%), together with the male sex (19.8%). Traffic accident (48.1%) was the main cause. Hemorrhagic symptoms (39.5%) was the most relevant clinical symptoms, followed by abdominal pain (38.3%). Positive results in complementary tests were represented by abdominal ultrasound (74.1%), followed by abdominal puncture (9.9%). Hepatic lesions (27.0%) was the most affected solid viscera, followed by splenic lesions (19.0%). 77.8% of cases were operated on and hepatic surgical techniques were the most frequently used, accounting for 17 cases (26.9%). Hypovolemic shock (12.7%) was the most frequent postoperative complication. A death rate of 12.3% was reported.

Conclusions:

The patient with blunt abdominal trauma should always be considered polytraumatized, in which case the initial treatment is aimed at rapid stabilization and identification of life-threatening injuries.

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