[BLUNT AND PENETRATING ABDOMINAL INJURIES DURING PREGNANCY]

Abdominal trauma, especially blunt trauma, is a prevalent complaint during all the stages of pregnancy, which mostly ends without any severe complications to the pregnant mother or the fetus. However, this kind of injury may carry a significant risk to the pregnant mother, to the fetus or to both in case of misdiagnosis regarding the severity of the damage - hence delaying the treatment. Diagnostic modalities are peritoneal lavage, ultrasonography and CT scans. Nevertheless, the high index of suspicion in any case of abdominal trauma during pregnancy remains the responsibility of the attending physician because there is not always a correlation between the complaints of the pregnant woman and the severity of her condition. Today, the main causes for abdominal trauma during pregnancy are car accidents, falls and assaults of pregnant women. In the present article the physiologic mechanisms that cause damage in cases of abdominal trauma during pregnancy, as well as the methods of diagnosis and treatment, are reviewed. It should be remembered that abdominal trauma during pregnancy may be a penetrating one - hence the rate, as well as the severity of the risk to both mother and fetus are significantly raised.