Blunt trauma, also known as non-penetrating trauma or blunt force trauma, refers to injury of the body by forceful impact, falls, or physical attack with a dull object. Penetrating trauma, by contrast, involves an object or surface piercing the skin, causing an open wound. Blunt trauma can be caused by a combination of forces, including acceleration and deceleration (the increase and decrease in speed of a moving object), shearing (the slipping and stretching of organs and tissue in relation to each other), and crushing pressure. Blunt trauma death refers to physical trauma to the body by way of fall, impact, or attack that results in death. Head trauma and severe loss of blood are the most common causes of death due to blunt traumatic injury. Severity of the injury depends on the mechanism and extent of injury. Typically, a large force applied to a sizable area over several minutes will result in vast tissue damage, which increases the chance of death. Whereas a smaller force applied to a smaller area will result in less tissue damage. Severity of injury also depends on the underlying age and health of the individual. For example, elderly patients have been identified as having some of the highest injury-related mortality rates. This has been attributed to several factors including reduced cardiopulmonary reserve, which is a measure of heart and lung function, as well as poor nutritional status, and propensity for bleeding after fractures.

The majority of blunt trauma cases are from motor vehicle crashes and pedestrian injuries often resulting in abdominal injuries. These injuries are typically attributed to collisions between the individual and the external environment, or to acceleration and deceleration forces acting on the individual’s internal organs. Within the abdomen, the spleen is the most commonly injured organ, followed by the liver. The kidneys, bladder, diaphragm, and the large and small intestines may also be affected. Injuries to the internal organs can lead to hemorrhage (release of blood from damaged blood vessels). This may result in hypotension, or a decrease in blood pressure, and more severely, hypovolemic shock. This occurs when the volume of blood in the body is too low, resulting in circulatory failure. Hypovolemic shock can be life-threatening and can lead to organ failure. When assessing possible abdominal trauma, physicians look for abdominal pain, tenderness, nausea, and vomiting. In cases of motor vehicle crashes, the presence of a positive ‘seatbelt sign’, appearing as bruising in a horizontal or diagonal band that corresponds to a seatbelt across the abdomen, chest, or neck, indicates an increased likelihood that the individual has an intra-abdominal injury. If serious trauma is suspected, imaging techniques, such as X-rays, CT scans, and ultrasound imaging, can also be used to detect fractures and internal injury. If a hollow organ, such as the small or large intestine, ruptures upon injury, it is considered a medical emergency and requires immediate medical attention. In addition to diagnostic imaging, providers may use a diagnostic peritoneal lavage to determine if there is free floating fluid, such as blood, in the abdominal cavity. The procedure entails inserting a catheter into the peritoneal cavity, or the sac around the abdominal cavity. After insertion, any free floating blood or fluid is drawn out. If necessary, sterile saline is then infused to wash out the cavity.

You may submit your manuscript as an e-mail attachment to the Editorial Office at  trauma@emedicaljournals.org; trauma@emedicalscience.com

Regards,
Katie Ashley
Editorial Team
Journal of Trauma & Treatment