Accidents remain a top cause of morbidity and mortality in pediatric patient. Assessment for blunt trauma to the abdomen is difficult in the trauma patient and findings of bowel injury can be subtly or confounded by visceral injuries. The most specific finding of free air in blunt hollow visceral organ is often minimally present, or entirely unseen. The pediatric radiologist must be familiarity with the more often seen and less specific secondary signs on CT, including free fluid, bowel wall thickening, and mesenteric contusion injury. We present, by case example, bowel injuries in the traumatic pediatric patient and their management and outcomes, while addressing common pearls and pitfalls. As many of these patients do well with non-operative treatment the radiologist must also be familiar with findings that would allow such option, to appropriately advice referring providers and manage potential re-image of the pediatric patient. Read More

Meeting name: IPR 2016 Conjoint Meeting & Exhibition , 2016

Authors: Verma Nupur, Patel Pratik, Rajderkar Dhanashree

Keywords: Trauma, Pediatrics, Dose Reduction in CT, Abdominal Injury