Posttraumatic shock in children: CT findings associated with hemodynamic instability

Twenty-seven of 1,018 children evaluated with contrast material-enhanced computed tomography (CT) after blunt trauma demonstrated a characteristic hypoperfusion complex. This complex was usually seen in young children (median age, 2 years). CT findings in all 27 patients included a dilated, fluid-filled bowel and abnormally intense enhancement of the bowel wall, mesentery, kidneys, aorta, and inferior vena cava. Twenty-four percent of all children with a Trauma Score of 10 or less and 20% with a Glasgow Coma Score of 6 or less had the hypoperfusion complex. All 27 patients had a normal blood pressure immediately before CT, but five (19%) became hypotensive within 10 minutes of intravenous contrast material administration. Twenty-three children (85%) died. Of 16 children who survived 24 hours, four (25%) developed renal insufficiency. The intense multiorgan enhancement pattern seen in the hypoperfusion complex indicates tenuous hemodynamic stability. Recognition that the constellation of CT findings is due to hypovolemic shock and not to injured viscera helps avoid unnecessary laparotomy.