The Diagnostic Value of Ultrasonography in Patients with Blunt Abdominal Trauma

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic value of ultrasonography (US) in detecting intraabdominal injuries in patients presenting with blunt abdominal trauma. Materials and Methods: All patients admitted to the emergency department with blunt abdominal trauma in 2009 were retrospectively evaluated. Records of clinical examinations, US reports and computed tomography (CT) findings were evaluated. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values for detecting abdominal free fluid and/or intraabdominal solid organ injury with US were determined. Results: A total of 110 patients with blunt abdominal trauma who underwent both US and CT were included in the study. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of US in detecting abdominal free fluid were 100%, 85.4%, 50%, 100% and 87.3%, respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of US in detecting intraabdominal solid organ injury were 15.6%, 0.00%, 41.2%, 0.00% and 12.7%, respectively. Conclusion: When screening patients with blunt abdominal trauma, US has a high diagnostic performance after clinical evaluation, particularly for determining abdominal free fluid. However, it is not sufficiently successful in detecting intraabdominal solid organ injury.