Late presentation of jejunal perforation after thoracic trauma

Jejunal perforation is extremely rare in trauma especially without initial involvement of the abdomen. We present the case of a delayed jejunal perforation after thoracic trauma with no initial indication of abdominal trauma in a 55-year-old man who was admitted to our department after a road traffi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of emergency medicine 2009-11, Vol.27 (9), p.1177.e1-1177.e3
Main Authors: Kouritas, Vasileios K., MD, PhD, Matheos, Efthimiou, MD, PhD, Baloyiannis, Ioannis, MD, Spyridakis, Michalis, MD, Desimonas, Nikolaos, MD, Hatzitheofilou, Kostas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abdomen
Blood tests
Case reports
Emergency
Emergency medical care
Head injuries
Humans
Injuries
Intestinal Perforation - diagnosis
Intestinal Perforation - etiology
Intestinal Perforation - therapy
Jejunum - injuries
Laparotomy
Ligaments
Male
Middle Aged
Patients
Phosphatase
Small intestine
Thoracic Injuries - complications
Thoracic Injuries - diagnosis
Thoracic Injuries - therapy
Time Factors
Traffic accidents & safety
Trauma
Ultrasonic imaging
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Jejunal perforation is extremely rare in trauma especially without initial involvement of the abdomen. We present the case of a delayed jejunal perforation after thoracic trauma with no initial indication of abdominal trauma in a 55-year-old man who was admitted to our department after a road traffic accident. The patient sustained thoracic trauma with rib fractures of the left hemithorax and hemopneumothorax and a mild head injury. On the fourth day of his in-hospital stay, he complained of severe abdominal pain and signs of acute abdomen were observed. He underwent emergency laparotomy where a perforation of the jejunum near the ligament of Treitz was noticed and sutured. His postoperative recovery was uneventful. Physicians treating trauma should always have a high degree of suspicion regarding rare abdominal injuries, with delayed presentation, even if no abdominal involvement is noticed during the initial survey.
ISSN:0735-6757
1532-8171
DOI:10.1016/j.ajem.2009.02.018