Abstract

Trauma is a major cause of global suffering and death. Timely management is thought to be a critical predictor of outcomes for patients with acute traumatic injuries. The present study evaluates the role of triple examination in early diagnosis of visceral injuries in trauma. METHODS: This study included 50 patients with torso trauma admitted to emergency surgical wards at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, Amritsar after written informed consent. The patients underwent clinical assessment, resuscitation and stabilization followed by eFAST scan and X-ray chest and abdomen. Once patients were hemodynamically stabilized, they underwent CT scan torso to confirm the findings of triple examination. The data collected was later suitably tabulated and statistically analysed to achieve the following results. RESULTS: Triple examination proved to be comparable to the gold standard CT torso in detecting haemoperitoneum with a sensitivity and specificity of 100%. Triple examination was able to diagnose rib fractures, pneumothorax, haemothorax, pneumoperitoneum and visceral injuries with a sensitivity of 92%, 95%, 100%, 83.33%, 97.30% and a specificity of 96%, 90%, 89.7%, 93.18%, 53.85% respectively. CONCLUSION: Triple examination is a cost effective, non-invasive and time saving protocol for early diagnosis of visceral injuries in torso trauma patients. It can be easily undertaken alongside hemodynamic resuscitation without withholding necessary care to the patient.

Description

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