Trends in the Nature and Management of Serious Abdominal Trauma

There have been recommendations for increased non-operative management (NOM) of abdominal trauma in adults. To assess the impact of this trend and changes in the epidemiology of trauma, we examined the management of serious abdominal injuries and mortality, in Victorian major trauma patients 16 years or older, between 2007 and 2016.

Using data from the population-based Victorian Trauma Registry, characteristics of patients who underwent laparotomy, embolisation, laparotomy and embolisation, or NOM, were compared with the Chi-square test. Poisson regression was used to determine whether the incidence of serious abdominal injury changed over time. Temporal trends in the management of abdominal injury and in-hospital mortality were analysed using, respectively, the Chi-square test for trend, and multivariable logistic regression.

Of 2385 patients with serious abdominal injuries, 69% (n = 1649) had an intervention; predominantly a laparotomy (n = 1166). The proportion undergoing laparotomy decreased from 60% in 2007 to 44% in 2016 (p < 0.001), whilst embolisation increased from 6 to 20% (p < 0.001). Population-adjusted incidence of abdominal injury increased 1.6% per year (IRR 1.016, 95% CI 1.002-1.031; p < 0.024), predominantly in people aged 65 years and over (4.6% per year). Adjusted odds of in-hospital mortality declined 6.0% per year (adjusted odds ratio 0.94; 95% CI 0.89, 1.00; p = 0.04).

Whilst the incidence of major abdominal trauma increased during the study period, there was a reduction in the proportion of patients managed with laparotomy and reduction in the adjusted odds of in-hospital mortality. Older patients, for whom management is influenced by the complex interplay of frailty and co-morbidities, had lower laparotomy rates.