A Prospective Study of Blunt Abdominal Trauma at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Nigeria Maurice E. Asuquo 1 , Anietimfon U. Etiuma 1 , Okon O. Bassey 1 , Gabriel Ugare 1 , Ogbu Ngim 1 , Cyril Agbor 1 , Anthonia Ikpeme 2 , Wilfred Ndifon 3 Abstract Background: Blunt abdominal trauma (BAT) usually results from motor vehicle accidents, assaults, and recreational accidents or falls. This communication is a 3-year report of an ongoing study aimed at providing the current BAT prevalence in our center. It is hoped that this would assist in a better design of prevention and emergency trauma response systems to cope with this epidemic. Methods: All of the patients admitted to the Univer- sity of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), Calabar, Nigeria, from February 2005 to January 2008 were prospectively studied based on a questionnaire. Hemodynamic stability and sonography formed the basis for selecting patients for non-operative man- agement (NOM); others were offered laparotomy. Results: In total, 4,391 emergencies were seen during the study period, of which 1,654 (38%) were due to trauma. Seventy-nine patients with abdominal trauma accounted for 4.8% of trauma cases. Forty-two (53%) patients suffered BAT and their ages ranged from 14 and 56 years (mean 28.4 years), with a male:female ratio of 2.5:1. Road traffic accidents accounted for 13 (87%) and 26 (96%) patients in the NOM and lapa- rotomy groups, respectively. The most commonly in- jured organ was the spleen in both groups: 8 (50%) and 15 (56%) in the NOM and laparotomy groups, respectively. Fifteen (36%) patients were managed successfully in the NOM group. Conclusion: Trauma was mainly due to road traffic injuries. Hemodynamic stability and ultrasonography effectively selected patients for NOM. The establish- ment of trauma systems, provision of ancillary diag- nostic and monitoring facilities, well-designed roads and traffic infrastructure, and health education on road safety would reduce injury, morbidity, and mortality. Key Words Blunt abdominal trauma Æ Non-operative management Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg 2010;36:164–8 DOI 10.1007/s00068-009-9104-2 Introduction Abdominal injuries are on the increase in both the developed and the developing countries and remain a major source of morbidity and mortality [1, 2]. Blunt abdominal trauma (BAT) usually results from motor vehicle accidents, assaults, and recreational accidents or falls [3]. Road traffic injuries remain a major source of BAT, men tend to be affected slightly more often than women, and the spleen is the most commonly injured organ [3–6]. Vehicular trauma is by far the leading cause of BAT in the civilian population; auto- to-auto and auto-to-pedestrian collision have been ci- ted as causes in 50–75% of cases [3]. The morbidity and mortality associated with BAT results from bleeding due to the disruption of solid organs, vascular struc- tures, and infection from the perforation of hollow 1 Department of Surgery, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria, 2 Department of Radiology, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria, 3 Department of Community Medicine, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria. Received: May 31, 2009; revision accepted: July 9, 2009; Published Online: September 11, 2009 European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery Original Article 164 Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg 2010 Æ No. 2 Ó URBAN &VOGEL