Ultrasound versus computed tomography scan findings in pediatric blunt abdominal traumas

Hasan Sultanoğlu; Ayşe Başaran; Azad Hekimoğlu; Engin Deniz Arslan; Seda Özkan

doi:10.18502/fem.v6i3.9393

Hasan Sultanoğlu Department of Emergency Medicine, Duzce University, Faculty of Medicine, Duzce, Turkey.
Ayşe Başaran Department of Emergency Medicine; Muğla Training and Research Hospital, Muğla, Turkey.
Azad Hekimoğlu Department of Radiology, Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
Engin Deniz Arslan Department of Emergency Medicine, Antalya Training and Research Hospital, Antalya, Turkey.
Seda Özkan Department of Emergency Medicine, İstanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/fem.v6i3.9393

Keywords: Abdominal Injuries; Computed Tomography; Non-penetrating Wounds; Pediatrics; Ultrasonography

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the performance of ultrasonography (US) versus computed tomography (CT) scan in detecting intra-abdominal injury among pediatric patients with blunt abdominal trauma.

Methods: Pediatric patients aged<18, who were admitted to the emergency department (ED) due to blunt abdominal trauma and underwent both US and CT scan were evaluated retrospectively.

Results: A total of 732 pediatric patients were included in this study. Pathology was detected on US of 418 (57.1%) cases, whereas, intra-abdominal pathology was detected in CT scan of 359 (48.7%) cases. The sensitivity of US in detecting pathology (fluid and/or organ injury) was 95.3%, and its specificity was 79.6%. The sensitivity of US in detecting free fluid was 94.9%, and its specificity was 80.5%. In hemodynamically unstable and stable patients, the sensitivities of US in detection of pathology (fluid and/or organ injury) were 97.6% and 91.6%, and its specificities were 74.3% and 80.9%, respectively.

Conclusion: In our study, the sensitivity of US in terms of detecting pathology in pediatrics with blunt abdominal trauma was high, whereas the specificity of US was low.