title: [Blunt liver trauma: therapeutic options].
abstract: Therapeutic options for management of blunt hepatic trauma include both non-operative and operative management, until liver transplantation. The presence of associated intraabdominal lesions increases mobility and mortality. A total of 58 patients with blunt hepatic injury, observed at the 2nd Surgical Unit of the "Santa Chiara Hospital" of Trento over a four-year period (1999-2003), were analyzed. Thirty-eight patients (65.5%) were treated conservatively with a 94.7% success rate. Twenty (34.5%) patients were surgically treated. Suture hepatorraphy was the most common procedure performed. The overall morbidity in surgical patients was 25%, with 20% of liver related complications. Four patients (20%) died with a liver related mortality of 10%. Advantages of non-operative management included a reduced need for transfusion (1.1 vs. 4.3 U), with 81.5% of patients not requiring transfusion, a reduced stay in the ICU and a reduced rate of morbidity and mortality (2.6% vs. 20%). Hemodynamic instability and the presence of an associated lesion in blunt hepatic trauma patients require emergency laparotomy. The widespread application of non-operative management has reduced the rate of morbidity and mortality related to unnecessary surgical approaches.
authors.affiliation: Unità Operativa di Chirurgia Generale 2a, Ospedale Santa Chiara, Trento.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zani
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fiamingo
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Valduga
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Famà
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Prezzi
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Eccher
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008099:Liver / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D015996:Survival Rate; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery* / Q000628:therapy