Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the importance of isolated pelvic free fluid (FF) detected by ultrasound examination in pregnant patients and in non-pregnant reproductive age women with blunt abdominal trauma (BAT). Methods: Reproductive age women aged 10-50 years who presented with BAT and underwent focused abdominal sonography for trauma (FAST) from January 1995 to June 2002 at a Level 1 trauma center were included. Patients were assigned to four groups according to the location of FF detected by ultrasound (Group 1, no FF; Group 2, FF in pelvis; Group 3, FF in abdomen; Group 4, FF in abdomen and pelvis). Ultrasound findings were compared with intra-abdominal and pelvic injuries detected by computed tomography and/or laparotomy. Pair-wise comparison was performed using a fisher's exact test. Results: Ultrasound detection of FF in the abdomen alone or FF in the abdomen and pelvis was significantly associated with intra-abdominal injury (IAI) compared to those without FF (P < 0.001) for both pregnant and non-pregnant reproductive age women. FF isolated to the pelvis was also associated with a higher injury rate compared to no FF in pregnant women (30% vs. 3%, P = 0.005) and in non-pregnant reproductive age women (39.5% vs. 3.7%, P < 0.001). Conclusions: In reproductive age women with BAT, ultrasound detection of FF in the abdomen alone, in both the abdomen and pelvis, or isolated to the pelvis is associated with a higher IAI rate. Therefore, isolated FF in the pelvis should not necessarily be considered physiological in pregnant and non-pregnant patients with BAT.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 271-278 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology |
Volume | 26 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 2005 |
Keywords
- Blunt abdominal trauma
- Injuries
- Intraperitoneum
- Pelvic free fluid
- Pregnancy
- Reproductive age women
- Ultrasound
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging
- Radiological and Ultrasound Technology
- Reproductive Medicine
- Acoustics and Ultrasonics