Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2024 May 21;11(6):612.
doi: 10.3390/children11060612.

Gastrointestinal Perforation with Blunt Abdominal Trauma in Children

Victoriya Staab  1   2 , Srividya Naganathan  1   2 , Margaret McGuire  1   2 , Jamie M Pinto  1   2 , Harpreet Pall  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Gastrointestinal Perforation with Blunt Abdominal Trauma in Children

Victoriya Staab et al. Children (Basel). .

Abstract

Gastrointestinal tract perforation is uncommon in children, accounting for <10% of cases of blunt abdominal trauma. Diagnosis of bowel perforation in children can be challenging due to poor diagnostic imaging accuracy. Intra-abdominal free air is found only in half of the children with bowel perforation. Ultrasound findings are nonspecific and suspicious for perforation in only two-thirds of cases. A computer tomography (CT) scan has a sensitivity and specificity of 50% and 95%, respectively. Surgical decisions should be made based on clinical examination despite normal CT results. Management of bowel perforation in children includes primary repair in 50-70% and resection with anastomosis in 20-40% of cases.

Keywords: abdominal trauma; bowel perforation; children; gastrointestinal tract injury.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

    1. [(accessed on 10 May 2024)]; Available online: https://www.cdc.gov/injury/features/child-injury/index.html.
    1. Curtin S.C., Tejada-Vera B., Bastian B.A. Deaths: Leading Causes for 2020. Natl. Vital Stat. Rep. 2023;72:1–115. - PubMed
    1. Schacherer N., Miller J., Petronis K. Pediatric blunt abdominal trauma: Recognition and management in the emergency department. Pediatr. Emerg. Med. Pract. 2020;17:1–59. - PubMed
    1. Zimmermann P., Lacher M. Blunt Abdominal Trauma. Pediatric Surgery Digest. Springer International Publishing; Cham, Switzerland: 2022. pp. 389–392.
    1. Lane W.G., Dubowitz H., Langenberg P., Dischinger P. Epidemiology of abusive abdominal trauma hospitalizations in United States children. Child Abus. Negl. 2012;36:142–148. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2011.09.010. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources