Frequency of intra-abdominal visceral injury due to penetrating trauma in the Emergency Department of Imam Khomeini Hospital in 2020

Introduction: Trauma is an injury that occurs due to the exchange of environmental energy with the body to an extent that is unbearable. In developing countries, such as Iran, trauma, especially abdominal trauma, has become increasingly important due to the enhanced development of vehicles and industries. The present study aimed to assess the frequency of intra-abdominal visceral injury due to penetrating trauma in the Emergency Department of Imam Khomeini Hospital in 2020. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 162 patients with penetrating abdominal trauma who were selected via the census method out of the patients referring to the Emergency Department of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Urmia, Iran. Data were collected using a checklist which included items on gender, age, length of hospital stay, patient's final condition, and cause of trauma, injury outcome, location of the injury, and laparotomy outcome. Data were entered into SPSS software (version 18) and analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation) and chi-square test. Results: Out of 162 impenetrable trauma patients, 135 (83.3%) and 27 (16.7%) cases were male and female, respectively. The mean age of patients was 33.25±18.99 years. The causes of trauma were accidents (75.4%) and falls from height (24.6%). Furthermore, regarding laparotomy results, 29.6% of patients had no intra-abdominal visceral injury, while intestinal, liver, and spleen injuries were observed in 24.7%, 25.9%, and 19.8% of cases, respectively. Conclusion: As evidenced by the results of this study, the majority of trauma patients were male. Moreover, the most common mechanisms of trauma in patients referring to the emergency department of this accident center and the most commonly injured organs were the spleen and intestine. Therefore, appropriate measures are required to prevent these injuries.