Diagnostic Accuracy of Computed Tomography Abdomen with Surgical Findings for Blunt Abdominal Injury Cases

Abstract

Aims: Computed tomography (CT) has become a widely used imaging modality for evaluating blunt abdominal injury (BAI) due to its ability to provide detailed anatomical information. This study aims to investigate the correlation between CT abdomen findings with surgical findings in cases of BAI, to assess the accuracy and reliability of CT in diagnosing and guiding surgical intervention. Study Design and Methodology: A retrospective study was conducted on a cohort of patients (n=100), clinically suspected of BAI who underwent CT abdomen and surgical procedure. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive values (NPV) of each solid organ were calculated. Results: Most of the organs involves are liver (37%) followed by kidney (29%) and spleen (19%). Patient with pancreas and adrenal injuries were low, 8% and 7% each other. CT revealed great sensitivity for the liver (98%), kidneys (98%) and adrenal (89%), and moderate sensitivity for the spleen (85%) and pancreas (80%). All the solid organs have high positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV), with kidneys having the largest range (PPV: 100% and NPV: 98%). The overall validity of CT was excellent in evaluating BAI cases. The results of this study indicate a strong correlation between CT abdomen findings and surgical findings in BAI cases. CT also showed abnormal findings like contusion, hematoma, laceration and vascular injury in most BAI cases. Conclusion: The accuracy and reliability of CT highlight its significance, guiding appropriate surgical intervention and optimizing patient outcomes.