Jemds.com Original Research Article J. Evolution Med. Dent. Sci./eISSN- 2278-4802, pISSN- 2278-4748/ Vol. 8/ Issue 18/ May 06, 2019 Page 1428 ABDOMINAL INJURY AND ITS OUTCOME- A PROSPECTIVE STUDY IN A TERTIARY HEALTH CARE CENTER U. C. Singh 1 , Abhishek Jina 2 1 Professor, Department of General Surgery, BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. 2 Assistant Professor, Department of General Surgery, BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. ABSTRACT BACKGROUND In spite of the advancement in medical technology, trauma remains a major health threat causing significant mortality and morbidity worldwide. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence and cause of the various abdominal injuries and compare the incidence, management, and outcome of blunt trauma and penetrating trauma abdominal injuries. METHODS Total 99 patients who had visited the surgery department BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur, U. P., from April 2016 to March 2017 (one-year period) were included in this prospective study. Both blunt as well as penetrating trauma patients were included in the study. After recording a detailed history, all relevant laboratory and radiological investigations were done. Depending on the initial test reports, patients underwent either operative or conservative treatment. Postoperative complications, if any, were also recorded. RESULTS In the present study, majority of patients were in 11-20 years age group. Male to female ratio was found to be 5:1. Blunt trauma is more common than penetrating trauma with a ratio of 3.7:1, and in penetrating trauma stab injury is more common than gunshot injury with a ratio of 3:1. In blunt trauma abdomen, road traffic accident was the most common mode of injury (57.7%) followed by falling from a height (30.8%) and assault (10.2%). In penetrating trauma abdomen, assault is the most common mode of injury (81%) followed by a road traffic accident (9.5%). Pain abdomen was the most common symptom (100%) in both groups. Most of the patients were treated by conservative management in both groups. A low mortality rate was reported in the present study (3.3%). CONCLUSIONS Abdominal trauma is one of the major health hazards among the younger male population. The most common mode of abdominal trauma is road traffic accident in the blunt trauma group, whereas in the penetrating group, gunshot and stabbing were the most common causes of injury. Conservative therapy was the most common mode of treatment in both groups. No major organ injuries were seen during radiological investigations. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Singh UC. Jina A. Abdominal injury and its outcome- a prospective study in a tertiary health care center. J. Evolution Med. Dent. Sci. 2019;8(18):1428-1432, DOI: 10.14260/jemds/2019/318 BACKGROUND Worldwide, trauma continues to be a significant health hazard affecting an individual's life to a great extent. In every country across the world, maximum cases of trauma are associated with a high rate of morbidity and mortality. Regardless of the socioeconomic condition of the country, this health condition is reported to be the leading cause of hospitalization, and death in the first few decades of life. (1) Abdominal trauma is frequently encountered by health professionals across the world and approximately one-third of the trauma patients were reported to have suffered from abdominal trauma. (2) The abdomen is a susceptible site for injury as it was a minimum of the bony structure surrounding it. The internal abdominal organs lay almost unprotected beneath the fat and muscle layer with any protection. Among ‘Financial or Other Competing Interest’: None. Submission 13-03-2019, Peer Review 20-04-2019, Acceptance 26-04-2019, Published 06-05-2019. Corresponding Author: Dr. Abhishek Jina, Assistant Professor, Department of General Surgery, 27 Doctors Enclave, Rapti Nagar, Phase III, Near Shahpur Thana, Gorakhpur-27300, Uttar Pradesh, India. E-mail: drabhishekjina@gmail.com DOI: 10.14260/jemds/2019/318 these abdominal trauma cases, 25% of cases required surgery. (3) The incidence of abdominal trauma is increasing day by day. In developing countries such as in India the urbanization, increased civic violence, road accidents, and criminal activities are mainly responsible for most of the abdominal injury cases. (4) Usually, two forces are responsible for causing the injury to intrabdominal structures: compression forces and deceleration forces. The direct blow exerted by external forces gives rise to compression forces that can harm the hollow organs leading to its rupture. In deceleration forces, the linear shearing between the fixed and the free objects causes harm towards the solid viscera and causes a hematoma. (5) Classically, abdominal injury can be divided into two types, either it is a blunt injury, or it can be a penetrating one. Penetrating trauma is usually diagnosed based on the clinical signs and symptoms, whereas, blunt trauma cases in a maximum of the instances get missed because of the presence of less obvious clinical signs. Among all abdominal trauma cases, 85% of the cases are blunt trauma cases. (6) Studies have shown that liver and spleen are the most common organs that get injured in the abdominal injury cases. (7) Management of the abdominal trauma has several elements that start from pre-hospital care to the rapid transport of the patient to a trauma specialty center. The