Abstract
Background
Previous studies have investigated the mechanisms of gastric rupture based only on
the findings in gastric rupture and excluding gastric lacerations.
Methods
We investigated 14 cases of gastric injury (five with rupture and nine with laceration)
from blunt abdominal trauma with or without thoracic trauma. Gastric injuries were
caused by a traffic accident in 12 and by a fall in two patients. All of the patients
with gastric rupture had had a full stomach at the time of impact.
Results
The patients had associated injuries of adjacent solid organs, the thoracic cage,
and extremities. The frequency of injury of the hepatoduodenal or gastrohepatic ligament
was higher in patients with gastric laceration than in patients with gastric rupture.
Eight of nine patients with a gastric laceration had hepatic or pancreatic injury,
whereas none of the patients with gastric rupture had such injury.
Conclusions
The results of our study showed that the distended stomach tends to rupture by absorbing
the impact from blunt abdominal trauma (i.e., it works like an airbag to protecting
adjacent organs such as the liver and pancreas).
Keywords
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References
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Article info
Publication history
Received in revised form:
March 4,
2003
Received:
August 26,
2002
Identification
Copyright
© 2004 Excerpta Medica Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
