Vaginal injuries following perineal trauma are relatively rare. Vaginal evisceration is even rarer accounting for less than 1% of all trauma to the perineum [1]. These injuries are associated with minimal symptoms and signs. Perineal or lower abdominal pain with vaginal bleeding are the common complaints and investigations such as erect abdominal x-ray or abdominal ultra-sonography may not demo...

Emergency practitioners routinely encounter patients who suffer from abdominal trauma, be it blunt or penetrating. These injuries are often confounded by altered mental status, distracting injuries, or lack of historical information, and may present challenges in management. However, in the last several years new approaches to the diagnosis and management of abdominal trauma, including bedside ...

The use of ultrasound in the evaluation of blunt thoraco-abdominal trauma is well described. Evidence for the use of ultrasound in the evaluation of penetrating cardio-thoracic and abdominal trauma, however, is more limited and varied. Current literature demonstrates that ultrasound is an excellent screening tool for penetrating thoracic and cardiac injuries with a high sensitivity for detectin...

Gallbladder injuries are extremely rare in blunt trauma, with a reported incidence of <2%. We report an autopsy case of fatal hemorrhagic shock due to intra-abdominal bleeding resulting from complete avulsion of the gallbladder associated with liver cirrhosis. Multiplanar images derived from multislice computed tomography (MSCT) performed as part of pre-autopsy screening showed complete avulsio...

Penetrating injuries to the abdominal aorta are highly lethal despite increasing numbers of reports of successful treatment. A case of survival after a 0,25-calibre gunshot wound of the abdominal aorta is presented. The patient, a young male, also had associated injuries to the liver, stomach and jejunum. He was managed by vigorous resuscitation, emergency laparotomy, aortic debridement and end...

STUDY OBJECTIVES We determine the test performance of abdominal ultrasonography for detecting hemoperitoneum in blunt trauma patients with out-of-hospital or emergency department (ED) hypotension. METHODS We reviewed the medical records of all blunt trauma patients hospitalized at a Level I trauma center. Patients were included if they were older than 6 years and had out-of-hospital or ED hyp...

The aim of this descriptive epidemiology study was to evaluate the injury incidence, pattern and type as a function of position in one professional baseball organization for one complete season. The study was carried out in a major academic center. Participants were all major/minor league baseball players playing for one professional organization. The disabled/injury list of one single professi...

Timely identification of specific injuries in a polytrauma case is of paramount importance in order to reduce morbidity and mortality. Unfortunately, some of these injuries are subtle and can be missed on initial primary and secondary assessments. In this paper, we report one such injury in a case of a 16-year old motorcyclist who complained of abdominal pain over the right lumbar region after ...

Increasing evidence supports a role for contrast-enhanced ultrasound in the assessment of blunt abdominal trauma. Accurate definition of organ injury can be demonstrated, as well as extension to solid organ capsule and even vascular injury. Low-dose contrast is needed for renal imaging, to avoid obscuration of deeper structures from intense cortical enhancement. The liver should be evaluated in...

BACKGROUND The efficacy of seat belts in reducing deaths from motor vehicle crashes is well documented. A unique association of injuries has emerged in adults and children with the use of seat belts. The "seat-belt syndrome" refers to the spectrum of injuries associated with lap-belt restraints, particularly flexion-distraction injuries to the spine (Chance fractures). METHODS We describe the...