Does this adult patient have a blunt intra-abdominal injury?

ABSTRACT:

Context

Blunt abdominal trauma often presents a substantial diagnostic challenge. Well-informed clinical examination can identify patients who require further diagnostic evaluation for intra-abdominal injuries after blunt abdominal trauma.

Objective

To systematically assess the precision and accuracy of symptoms, signs, laboratory tests, and bedside imaging studies to identify intra-abdominal injuries in patients with blunt abdominal trauma.

Data sources

We conducted a structured search of MEDLINE (1950-January 2012) and EMBASE (1980-January 2012) to identify English-language studies examining the identification of intra-abdominal injuries. A separate, structured search was conducted for studies evaluating bedside ultrasonography.

Study selection

We included st

SUBMITTER: Nishijima DK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4966670 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature