Potential of laparoscopy to reduce non-therapeutic trauma laparotomies

Standard diagnostic methods used to evaluate patients sustaining abdominal trauma result in non-therapeutic laparotomy rates ranging from 5 to 40 per cent depending upon the clinical situation. The purpose of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of diagnostic laparoscopy in the identification of intra-abdominal injuries in stable trauma patients. Twenty-one hemodynamically stable adult patients underwent laparoscopy prior to laparotomy for blunt (n = 10) or penetrating (n = 11) trauma, and the findings from each procedure were directly compared. Laparoscopy was 100 per cent accurate in detecting the need for laparotomy, although a number of specific injuries were not identified. There were no complications related to the procedure. Emergency laparoscopy is safe and should be considered in hemodynamically stable trauma patients with indications for laparotomy based on standard diagnostic criteria in order to minimize the incidence of non-therapeutic laparotomy.