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Updated: Feb 1, 2026
A Scalable Model to Study the Effects of Blunt-Force Injury in Adult Zebrafish
Published on: May 31, 2021
Occult bowel injury after blunt abdominal trauma
Tyler J Loftus1, Megan L Morrow2, Lawrence Lottenberg2
1University of Florida Health, Department of Surgery, Gainesville, FL, USA; University of Florida Health, Sepsis and Critical Illness Research Center, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Background:
Following blunt abdominal trauma, bowel injuries are often missed on admission computed tomography (CT) scan.
Methods:
Multicenter retrospective analysis of 176 adults with moderate-critical blunt abdominal trauma and admission CT scan who underwent operative exploration. Patients with a bowel injury missed on CT (n = 36, 20%) were compared to all other patients (n = 140, 80%).
Results:
The missed injury group had greater incidence free fluid without solid organ injury on CT scan (44% vs. 25%, p = 0.038) and visceral adhesions (28% vs. 6%, p = 0.001). Independent predictors of missed bowel injury included prior abdominal inflammation (OR 3.74, 95% CI 1.37-10.18), CT evidence of free fluid in the absence of solid organ injury (OR 2.31, 95% CI 1.03-5.19) and intraoperative identification of visceral adhesions (OR 4.46, 95% CI 1.52-13.13).
Conclusions:
Patients with visceral adhesive disease and indirect evidence of bowel injury on CT scan were more likely to have occult bowel injury.
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