The value and role of computed tomography in blunt injury of the abdomen.

The use of computed tomography (CT) has had a tremendous impact on the evaluation and management of blunt abdominal trauma. The ability of CT to confirm the absence of intraperitoneal injury and/or significant hemoperitoneum, in correlation to the patient's physiological status, provides extremely valuable information so that unnecessary abdominal surgery is avoided. CT not only demonstrates the presence of injury and delineates it's extent, including the size of the hemoperitoneum, but may also provide information concerning the hemodynamic status of the patient. We reviewed the abdominal CT examination of 38 patients with blunt abdominal trauma at our institution from April 1989 to May 1990. There were no false negative cases and only one false positive case. Thus, we concluded that CT is not only a highly sensitive and accurate modality, but also an invaluable radiological diagnostic tool in the evaluation of blunt abdominal injury.