title: Wound irrigation before abdominal computed tomography scanning.
abstract: The management of penetrating abdominal trauma has evolved considerably over the last 30 years. The goal of any algorithm for penetrating abdominal trauma should be to identify injuries requiring surgical repair and avoid unnecessary laparotomy with its associated morbidity. We describe a case where the infusion of povidone-iodine (Videne) and air into the wound uncovered the peritoneal breach clinically and guided the radiologist to the site of the internal injury. This case report raises an intriguing possible role for povidone-iodine and air to be used both for wound toilet and to aid identification of occult wound tracks on computed tomography imaging. We advocate the routine use of wound irrigation with a mixture of povidone-iodine and air as described, in a select group of patients, as an adjunct to diagnosis before abdominal computed tomography scanning.
authors: Department of General and Colorectal Surgery,St George's Healthcare NHS Trust, SW17 0QT London, United Kingdom. nkatsoulas@gmail.com
authors: Nikolaos
authors: N
authors: Katsoulas
authors: Senthil
authors: S
authors: Ganapathi
authors: Robert
authors: R
authors: Hagger