Non-operative management (NOM) of blunt hepatic trauma: 80 cases.

BACKGROUND Liver is the most frequently injured organ upon abdominal trauma. We present a group of patients with blunt hepatic trauma who were managed without any invasive diagnostic tools and/or surgical intervention. METHODS A total of 80 patients with blunt liver injury who were hospitalized to the general surgery clinic or other clinics due to the concomitant injuries were followed non-operatively. The normally distributed numeric variables were evaluated by Student's t-test or one way analysis of variance, while non-normally distributed variables were analyzed by Mann-Whitney U-test or Kruskal-Wallis variance analysis. Chi-square test was also employed for the comparison of categorical variables. Statistical significance was assumed for p<0.05. RESULTS There was no significant relationship between patients' Hgb level and liver injury grade, outcome, and mechanism of injury. Also, there was no statistical relationship between liver injury grade, outcome, and mechanism of injury and ALT levels as well as AST level. There was no mortality in any of the patients. CONCLUSION During the last quarter of century, changes in the diagnosis and treatment of liver injury were associated with increased survival. NOM of liver injury in patients with stable hemodynamics and hepatic trauma seems to be the gold standard.