Original Article

How Can we Stay More Conservative in Penetrating Abdominal Stab Wounds?

10.4274/Haseki.827

  • Akgün Çelik
  • Selim Birol
  • İbrahim Rafet Kaplan
  • Ekrem Ferlengez
  • Aysun Şimşek Çelik
  • Deniz Güzey

Received Date: 29.08.2012 Accepted Date: 29.08.2012 Med Bull Haseki 2013;51(2):61-65

Aim:

To review the results of our treatment approach to penetrating abdominal stab wounds and to reduce unnecessary hospital stay.

Methods:

Admission files and surgery notes of 87 patients with penetrating abdominal stab wounds, who had applied to Gureba Bezmialem Valide Sultan Hospital Emergency Clinic between 2008 and 2010, were reviewed retrospectively. The results physical examination of the abdomen, and laboratory findings, such as amylase level, leukocyte count and hematocrit value, were evaluated. Comparison of the data was made by Fisher's exact test for categorical data and t-test was used for continuous data.

Results:

A total of 87 patients were treated in our emergency clinic with the diagnosis of penetrating abdominal trauma and 48 of them were operated on. 19 of 36 patients with positive laparotomy findings had a high white blood cell count, hematocrit value decreased in 16 patients, and only 2 patients had high amylase values. Out of the surgically treated 48 patients, 9 patients had hypotension and tachycardia. Negative laparotomy findings were found in two of them.

Conclusion:

Our negative laparotomy rate could have been 59% instead of 33% if the patients would have been operated on just because of penetrating abdominal wounds.

Keywords: Stab wounds, conservative, laparotomy

Full Text (Turkish)