Characteristic features of abdominal organ injuries associated with gastric rupture in blunt abdominal trauma.
BACKGROUND
Previous studies have investigated the mechanisms of gastric rupture based only on the findings in gastric rupture and excluding gastric lacerations.


METHODS
We investigated 14 cases of gastric injury (five with rupture and nine with laceration) from blunt abdominal trauma with or without thoracic trauma. Gastric injuries were caused by a traffic accident in 12 and by a fall in two patients. All of the patients with gastric rupture had had a full stomach at the time of impact.


RESULTS
The patients had associated injuries of adjacent solid organs, the thoracic cage, and extremities. The frequency of injury of the hepatoduodenal or gastrohepatic ligament was higher in patients with gastric laceration than in patients with gastric rupture. Eight of nine patients with a gastric laceration had hepatic or pancreatic injury, whereas none of the patients with gastric rupture had such injury.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of our study showed that the distended stomach tends to rupture by absorbing the impact from blunt abdominal trauma (i.e., it works like an airbag to protecting adjacent organs such as the liver and pancreas).
Shinkawa
Hiroki
H
Department of Surgery, Teikyo University Ichihara Hospital, 3426-3 Anesaki, Ichihara City, Chiba 299-0111, Japan. akkun@med.teikyo-u.ac.jp
Yasuhara
Hiroshi
H
Naka
Shuji
S
Morikane
Keita
K
Furuya
Yoshitaka
Y
Niwa
Hirotaka
H
Kikuchi
Tsuyoshi
T
D000007:Abdominal Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery; D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012494:Sampling Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013275:Stomach Rupture / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery