TITLE:
Surgical Management of Abdominal Trauma: Indications and Outcomes in Two Emergency Units with Limited Infrastructure Resources in Yaoundé (Cameroon)
AUTHORS:
Savom Eric Patrick, Bang Guy Aristide, Biwole Biwole Daniel, Bitang A. Mafok Louis Joss, Bwelle Motto Georges Roger, Ekani Boukar Mahamat Yannick, Ngo Nonga Bernadette, Essomba Arthur
KEYWORDS:
Abdominal Trauma, Abdominal Contusion, Abdominal Wound, Surgical Indications, Yaoundé
JOURNAL NAME:
Surgical Science,
Vol.12 No.10,
October
25,
2021
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Abdominal trauma is a major
public health concern. Their management is controversial and difficult.
Operative indications are not codified in all situations. Patients
and Methods: This was a descriptive cross- sectional study over a
period of 5 years, carried out in the surgical emergency department of the
Central Hospital of Yaoundé and the Emergency Centre of Yaoundé. We reviewed
retrospectively medical records of patients who had laparotomy after abdominal
trauma. Results: We collected 115 files. There
was a male predominance (83.47%) and the average age was 33.8 years. The
average time to admission was 12.3 hours and the aetiologies were dominated by
road traffic accidents (53%). Abdominal contusions represented 69.56% of cases
and abdominal wounds 30.44% of cases. Indications for surgery were hemodynamic
instability, evidence of a lesion of a hollow viscus, the presence of
evisceration or a gunshot wound, and initial non-operative treatment failure. Postoperative morbidity was 9.56% and overall
mortality was 3.47%. Conclusion: Surgical management of abdominal trauma is frequent in our setting, mainly
indicated for hemodynamic instability. Results are good with a low
morbi-mortality.