title: Current practice and the role of the CT in the management of penetrating liver injuries at a Level I trauma center.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The liberal utilization of computed tomography (CT) has significantly contributed to overall improvements in trauma care. However, the role and the current practice of the CT examinations in the management of patients with penetrating liver injuries are scantily documented.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study was aimed to assess the current practice and the role of the admission and follow-up CT in patients with penetrating liver injuries.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a retrospective study at a Level I trauma center. Study period is from 01/2005 to 12/2007.
  
  
  METHODS
  All patients with penetrating liver injuries were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 178 patients with penetrating liver injuries were assessed. A total of 123 (69.1%) patients underwent emergent laparotomy without preoperative CT due to signs of peritonitis (47.8%), hypotension (16.3%), or a GCS of ≤8 (5.1%). In this group of patients, no nontherapeutic laparotomy occurred. The remaining 55 (30.9%) patients underwent CT scan evaluation on admission. Of these, 54.5% were selected for nonoperative management (NOM). Sensitivity and specificity of the admission CT to predict a positive laparotomy was 95.7% and 90.6%, respectively. Overall, 80.6% of isolated liver injuries were successfully managed nonoperatively. Thirty-three (18.5%) patients died within 72 h. In the remaining 145 patients, 33 liver-related complications occurred in 17.2% (25 of 145) of patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Two-thirds of patients with penetrating liver injuries require emergent laparotomy, mainly due to associated injuries. The remaining one-third of patients, however, is amenable for an admission CT, which reliably predicts successful NOM. Moderate or severe injuries require follow-up CT because of the high incidence of asymptomatic liver-related complications.
authors.affiliation: Division of Acute Care Surgery and Surgical Critical Care, Los Angeles County Medical Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Beat
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schnüriger
authors.forename: Peep
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Talving
authors.forename: Raffaella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barbarino
authors.forename: Galinos
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Barmparas
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Inaba
authors.forename: Demetrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Demetriades