title: Screening ultrasound in blunt abdominal trauma.
abstract: Ultrasound is used worldwide to evaluate patients with blunt abdominal trauma. Sometimes referred to as an extension of the physical exam, ultrasound can rapidly help distinguish patients with injury requiring computerized tomography (CT) or surgery (typically 5%-10%) from those with no abdominal injury (> 90%). Ultrasound has several advantages in the setting of trauma. It is portable, integrates easily into the resuscitation of trauma victims without causing delay in therapy, is noninvasive, and has no associated morbidity. Limitations of ultrasound include its dependence on operator skill and technique, poor image quality in patients with morbid obesity or extensive subcutaneous gas, limited visualization of the retroperitoneum, and less reliable localization of visceral injury compared to CT. Successful use of abdominal ultrasound in the setting of trauma can be maximized with adequate sonographer training, appreciation of technical limitations, and adherence to an appropriate trauma ultrasound protocol.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, UCSD Medical Center, San Diego, CA 92103, USA. m9brown@ucsd.edu
authors.forename: Michèle A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Claude B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Sirlin
authors.forename: David B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Hoyt
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Casola
mesh_terms: D000007:Abdominal Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D000465:Algorithms; D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods; D003663:Decision Trees; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D018579:Patient Selection; D010533:Peritoneal Lavage; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014194:Traumatology / Q000379:methods; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery