Table 1.
Baseline and imaging characteristics of the study population
| Number of trauma calls screened (2 years, 3 centres) | 5,401 |
| Suspected blunt abdominal trauma population | |
| Number of suspected blunt abdominal trauma cases (no penetrating abdominal injury) | 2,793 (51.7%) |
| Mean age in years | 48 (SD: 26) |
| Female sex | 1,113 (40%) |
| Concurrent major limb injuries (blunt) | 214 (7.6%) |
| Concurrent major penetrating injuries (not in torso) | 35 (1.2%) |
| Road traffic collision (car vs car) | 1,080 (38.7%) |
| Road traffic collision (motorbike) | 320 (11.5%) |
| Pedestrian vs car | 31 (1.1%) |
| Fall from a height (>2m) | 573 (20.5%) |
| Other fall | 324 (11.6%) |
| Unknown mechanism of injury or other | 465 (16.6%) |
| Immediate laparotomy | 6 (0.2%) |
| Associated severe head injuries | 122 (4.4%) |
| Associated severe chest injuries | 88 (3.2%) |
| Findings on initial CT* | |
| Number of initial CT scans | 2,787 (99.8%) |
| Free intraperitoneal fluid | 324 (11.6%) |
| Free intraperitoneal gas | 61 (2.2%) |
| Mesenteric or bowel injury | 179 (6.4%) |
| Hepatobiliary injury | 168 (6.0%) |
| Splenic injury | 149 (5.3%) |
| Urological injury | 127 (4.6%) |
| Vascular injury (excluding spleen) | 46 (1.7%) |
| No significant finding relating to abdominal or pelvic trauma | 1,739 (62.4%) |
| Findings on subsequent CT (n=668)* | |
| Number of follow-up CT scans during same admission | 668 (24.0%) |
| Free intraperitoneal fluid | 14 (2.1%) |
| Free intraperitoneal gas | 4 (0.6%) |
| Hepatobiliary injury | 8 (1.2%) |
| Splenic injury | 17 (2.5%) |
| Urological injury | 19 (2.8%) |
| Vascular injury | 2 (0.3%) |
SD = standard deviation; CT = computed tomography
*All of the splenic injuries showing on repeat CT were evident on initial imaging. This was also the case for five of the hepatobiliary injuries on repeat CT but none of the other injuries were evident on previous imaging.