title: Implications of a negative abdominal CT in the management of pediatric blunt abdominal trauma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  No consensus exists on management of children with a negative trauma CT following blunt abdominal trauma (BAT). Asymptomatic children are frequently "admitted for observation" following negative CT owing to concerns about missing an intraabdominal injury (IAI) without evidence for this practice. We aimed to investigate the feasibility of discharge following a negative CT scan in children sustaining blunt abdominal trauma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective audit at a UK paediatric major trauma center and review of the literature.
  
  
  RESULTS
  108 patients were included (median age 11y; 60% male). Commonest mechanisms of injury: road traffic collisions (61 patients; 56%) and falls from a height (37; 34%). 40 (37%) had a normal CT scan, of whom 6 (15%) were discharged from ED. The remaining 34 patients were admitted, of whom 14 (41%) were discharged within 24h. The other 20 children were admitted for other specialty input. None of the 108 children had a missed IAI or reattended with suspicion of IAI. The NPV for CT to detect IAI was 100% (95% CI: 96%-100%). The literature search identified 3 observational cohort studies and 2 patient groups contained in a systematic review (total of 9149 patients with normal CT abdomen after BAT). Only 9 (<0.1%) patients required operative intervention for missed IAI. The NPV for CT to detect IAI was 99.6%-99.8% (95% CI 99%-100%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study and literature review demonstrate that asymptomatic children with a normal abdominal CT scan in the ED are very unlikely to have IAI and that the NPV of CT is very high (96%-100%). Direct discharge from the ED is possible for asymptomatic children with a negative CT following blunt abdominal trauma, as long as no other reasons for admission exist and should be accompanied by safety-net advice.
  This is a level II evidence study. In itself it is a retrospective study, with the literature review including one large, high-quality prospective cohort study, and further prospective cohort studies of ordinary quality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatric Surgery, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, UK; Child Life and Health, University of Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Braungart
authors.affiliation: Child Life and Health, University of Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Beattie
authors.affiliation: Child Life and Health, University of Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Midgley
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatric Surgery, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, UK. Electronic address: mark.powis@nhs.net.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Powis
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000007:Abdominal Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D054869:Clinical Audit; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010351:Patient Discharge; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014193:Trauma Centers; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*
keywords: Abdominal CT; Abdominal trauma; Blunt trauma; Pediatrics