Epidemiological and Clinical Profile of Patients with Blunt Abdominal Trauma at Aristide Le Dantec Hospital of Dakar

Background: Trauma is a real public health issue, being the third leading cause of death in the world. Blunt Abdominal Trauma (BAT) represents a significant part of these traumas and constitutes a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. The aim of this study is to determine the epidemiological and clinical profile of BAT in the Department of General Surgery at Aristide Le Dantec Hospital. Patients and methods: This was a retrospective and cross-sectional study from January 2012 to March 2017. Patients who were more than 15 years old with BAT were included. The studied parameters were: age, gender, delay of admission, etiology of the trauma, clinical signs, organ injury, type of treatment and evolution. Results: Thirty-seven patients were included. The mean age was 34.8 years ± 13.5. There were 35 men and 2 women. The etiologies were dominated by road traffic accidents (54.1%, n = 20) and assaults (21.4%, n = 8). Abdominal pain was found in all patients (100%, n = 37). It was associated with vomiting and fever in 32.4% (n = 12) and 27% (n = 10), respectively. There was no hemodynamic instability in the majority of cases (89.2%, n = 33). The most frequently injured organ was the spleen (16.2%, n = 6) followed by the liver and intestines each in 13.5% of cases (n = 5). Extra abdominal injury was noted in 32.4% of the cases (n = 12). Conclusions: The patient profile in our study was a young man victim of a road traffic accident. The most injured organ was the spleen followed by the liver. A good knowledge of this profile can be helpful to reduce the incidence and mortality associated with these injuries.