Microhematuria as an Indicator of Significant Abdominal Injury

Lea Ohana-Sarna-Cahan1, Yonatan Levin2, Itai Gross3

  • 1From the Department of Pediatrics.

Insights

Microhematuria in children after trauma has low diagnostic accuracy for intra-abdominal injuries. However, it remains a valuable screening tool for assessing injury severity and guiding further evaluation.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Trauma
  • Urology
  • Emergency Medicine

Background:

  • Trauma is a leading cause of pediatric morbidity and mortality.
  • Microhematuria is often used to screen for significant abdominal injuries in children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the role of dipstick urinalysis for microhematuria in identifying significant abdominal injuries in pediatric trauma patients.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective review of 655 children (0-16 years) admitted for motor vehicle accidents or falls (2007-2017).
  • Analysis of urinalysis results and correlation with computed tomography (CT) scan findings.

Main Results:

  • Microhematuria was present in 100 children; 41 underwent CT scans.
  • CT revealed significant injury in 39% of those with microhematuria.
  • Sensitivity: 66.6%, Specificity: 68.3%. Microhematuria correlated with longer hospital stays, surgery, and PICU admission.

Conclusions:

  • Dipstick urinalysis for microhematuria has low sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing intra-abdominal injuries in children.
  • Despite limitations, microhematuria is a useful initial screening tool for assessing injury severity.
Abstract

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