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Emergency Medicine Management Research Center, Health Management Research Institute, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Abstract:   (192 Views)
Introduction: Trauma is one of the leading causes of death and disability in societies, with traffic accidents being the most significant cause of mortality among traumas. Injuries resulting from road traffic accidents are a major public health issue that requires continuous and effective monitoring and coordination, given the emergencies associated with pneumoperitoneum in patients and the prevalence of mortality resulting from it. The present study aimed to investigate the factors that ultimately lead to the presence of air under the diaphragm or pneumoperitoneum in trauma patients.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Haft-e-Tir Hospital of Iran University of Medical Sciences (Iran) in 2022 to evaluate trauma patients presenting with pneumoperitoneum. Pneumoperitoneum was diagnosed based on subdiaphragmatic air observed in plain radiography or CT imaging, accompanied by clinical symptoms, such as abdominal pain, vomiting, tachycardia, hypotension, and tachypnea. Data were collected using a pre-prepared checklist, with patient information extracted from medical records and analyzed using the SPSS (version 25) software. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and t-tests were employed for data analysis, with a significance level set at 0.05.
Results: In this study, the records of 287 trauma patients who underwent contrast-enhanced CT scans and met the inclusion criteria were reviewed. Among these, 19 patients were diagnosed with pneumoperitoneum, and two of these patients had concurrent pneumothorax. The mean age of participants was 37.2 years, with men representing a larger proportion of the study population (221 men vs. 66 women). The most common trauma mechanism was accidents, accounting for 244 individuals (84.9% of participants). Among 19 patients with pneumoperitoneum, only eight underwent surgery, with an average pneumoperitoneum volume of 28.97 mL in this group. The remaining patients exhibited point-like pneumoperitoneum and did not require surgical intervention. No significant differences were observed between age (P=0.39), gender (P=0.56), trauma mechanism (P=0.82), and pneumoperitoneum.
Conclusion: Initial observations indicate that the prevalence of pneumoperitoneum in this group of patients is low, and not every patient with pneumoperitoneum necessarily requires surgical intervention.
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Type of Study: Short Communication | Subject: Trauma
Received: 2025/01/21 | Accepted: 2025/04/17 | ePublished ahead of print: 2025/05/4

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