[Role of computed tomography in splenic blunt trauma]

The CT scans of 18 patients (12 males and 6 females; mean age: 43.6 years) with splenic blunt trauma were reviewed. CT examinations had been made at different times after trauma. The CT images were grouped according to the time of examination and both structure and densitometry were evaluated in all lesions. In all cases CT findings were correlated with surgical and pathologic data. The patients were divided into two groups: group I included 11 subjects in whom CT had been performed within 48 hours following trauma and group II included 7 patients who had undergone CT at different times after trauma (3-13 days; mean: 6.5 days). All the lesions in group I exhibited blurred outlines, while the lesions in group II had clear-cut margins. The lesions in group I were always hyperdense while those in group II were hypodense. CT diagnosis was always in agreement with surgical findings. In conclusion, we confirm the value of CT in the examination of splenic lesions by blunt abdominal trauma. The evolution of splenic lesions is usually typical: CT yields useful information for injury evaluation and is therefore very important to plan treatment. We believe that CT should be performed as soon as possible, even on the basis of minor clinical and laboratory data.