title: Diagnosis of acute abdominal injuries in patients with spinal shock: value of diagnostic peritoneal lavage.
abstract: Loss of sensory, motor, and reflex function during spinal shock obscures the usual signs of significant blunt abdominal trauma. In a retrospective study of ten acutely quadriplegic patients, initial physical findings, vital signs, and hematocrit determinations were not found to be helpful in detecting intra-abdominal injury. Diagnostic peritoneal lavage was an accurate indicator of the presence or absence of significant intraperitoneal hemorrhage in all ten cases in this series.
mesh_terms: D000007:Abdominal Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006400:Hematocrit; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010529:Peritoneal Cavity; D011782:Quadriplegia / Q000150:complications*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D007507:Therapeutic Irrigation / Q000379:methods*; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000150:complications