The spleen not taken: Differences inmanagement and outcomes of blunt splenic injuries in teenagers cared for by adult and pediatric trauma teams in a single institution

摘要

BACKGROUND: Nonoperative management (NOM) of blunt splenic injury, initially touted for the care of pediatric patients, has become the standard of care for stable trauma patients of all ages. In our institution, trauma patients younger than 16 years are managed by the pediatric surgery service and patients 16 years or older are managed by the adult trauma service. Angioembolization is routinely used for adults with blunt splenic injury but rarely used for pediatric patients. A retrospective chart review was performed to determine if more liberal use of angioembolization increases the success rate of NOM of blunt splenic injury in adolescents.