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. 2023 Nov;7(4):271-273.
doi: 10.5811/cpcem.1251.

A Woman with Abdominal Pain After Lap-belt Trauma

Chandler Davis  1 , Erin F Shufflebarger  2 , Andrew Hubbs  2 , Zachary S Pacheco  2
Affiliations

A Woman with Abdominal Pain After Lap-belt Trauma

Chandler Davis et al. Clin Pract Cases Emerg Med. 2023 Nov.

Abstract

Case presentation: A 24-year-old female presented to the emergency department with diffuse abdominal pain after involvement as a restrained driver in a motor vehicle collision (MVC). Computed tomography of the abdomen revealed a traumatic abdominal wall hernia due to rectus wall rupture with complete bowel herniation.

Discussion: A traumatic abdominal wall hernia is a rare complication of blunt abdominal trauma that is typically associated with injury from a motorcycle handlebar but is more commonly seen after a MVC. It is important to consider this diagnosis when evaluating patients with abdominal pain after blunt abdominal trauma from either of these mechanisms.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: By the CPC-EM article submission agreement, all authors are required to disclose all affiliations, funding sources and financial or management relationships that could be perceived as potential sources of bias. The authors disclosed none.

Figures

Image 1.
Image 1.
Sagittal computed tomography showing rectus muscle disruption with abdominal content herniation (arrow).
Image 2.
Image 2.
Transverse computed tomography showing large traumatic ventral hernia (arrow).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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