title: Non-operative management (NOM) of blunt hepatic trauma: 80 cases.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Liver is the most frequently injured organ upon abdominal trauma. We present a group of patients with blunt hepatic trauma who were managed without any invasive diagnostic tools and/or surgical intervention.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 80 patients with blunt liver injury who were hospitalized to the general surgery clinic or other clinics due to the concomitant injuries were followed non-operatively. The normally distributed numeric variables were evaluated by Student's t-test or one way analysis of variance, while non-normally distributed variables were analyzed by Mann-Whitney U-test or Kruskal-Wallis variance analysis. Chi-square test was also employed for the comparison of categorical variables. Statistical significance was assumed for p<0.05.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no significant relationship between patients' Hgb level and liver injury grade, outcome, and mechanism of injury. Also, there was no statistical relationship between liver injury grade, outcome, and mechanism of injury and ALT levels as well as AST level. There was no mortality in any of the patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  During the last quarter of century, changes in the diagnosis and treatment of liver injury were associated with increased survival. NOM of liver injury in patients with stable hemodynamics and hepatic trauma seems to be the gold standard.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Atatürk University Faculty of Medicine, Erzurum, Turkey. bozogul57@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Bünyami
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Özoğul
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Atatürk University Faculty of Medicine, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kısaoğlu
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Atatürk University Faculty of Medicine, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Bülent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Aydınlı
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Atatürk University Faculty of Medicine, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gürkan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Öztürk
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Atatürk University Faculty of Medicine, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Atıf
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bayramoğlu
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Atatürk University Faculty of Medicine, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sarıtemur
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Atatürk University Faculty of Medicine, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ayhan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aköz
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Atatürk University Faculty of Medicine, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Özgür Hakan
authors.initials: ÖH
authors.lastname: Bulut
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Atatürk University Faculty of Medicine, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sabri Selçuk
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Atamanalp
mesh_terms: D000007:Abdominal Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008099:Liver / Q000293:injuries*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy; D055815:Young Adult