[Liver trauma. Description of a cohort and evaluation of therapeutic options]

Complex liver injuries carry high morbidity and mortality ranging between 40 and 80%.

To describe the characteristics of patients with liver trauma in the intensive care unit of our hospital, and the causes, severity scales, diagnoses, and treatments of these injuries, as well as length of hospital stay, morbidity and mortality.

We retrospectively reviewed the patients with liver trauma admitted to our intensive care unit (ICU) from January 2000 to December 2005. There were two groups of patients: those who underwent surgery and those who received conservative treatment.

Univariate analysis revealed statistically significant differences between the two groups in the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score on admission to the ICU, the Injury Severity Score (ISS), and the percentage of severelesions according to the Liver Injury Scale (LIS), as well as in the coexistence of lesions in the large intestine.

From the statistical point of view, the two main variables guiding the therapeutic approach were hemodynamic instability and the need for transfusion. The indication for surgery showed a clear, although non-significant, association with mortality. Lastly, there was an association between the surgical option of packing and mortality.