Clinical Analysis on Patients with Traumatic Liver Injury

Purpose: The liver is one of the most commonly injured organs in abdominal trauma. Surgery has played a major role in treating traumatic liver injury. Recently, it was reported that conservative treatment could be the first-line management for hemodynamically stable patients without combined intraabdominal surgical problems. The aim of this study was to examine the prognostic factors in traumatic liver injury. Methods: The medical records of 41 patients who were treated for traumatic liver injury at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital from March 2003 to October 2007 were retrospectively reviewed. Results: Among the 41 patients, 34 cases (82.9%) were managed nonsurgically, and 7 cases (17.1%) were managed surgically. Out of the 5 (12.2%) mortalities, 2 were encountered in those who underwent surgery, and 3 were encountered in those who were treated nonsurgically. Univariate analysis showed that the initial systolic blood pressure, the initial hemoglobin level, and the grade of liver injury were significant prognostic factors for survival. Multivariate analysis indicated that initial low systolic blood pressure was the only independent risk factor. Conclusion: Patients with unstable vital signs initially have a poor prognosis. Aggressive management might be helpful for improving the survival rate in these patients.

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