AJR. American journal of roentgenology
-
The use of computed tomography (CT) has had a tremendous impact on the evaluation and management of blunt abdominal trauma. It is noninvasive, easy to perform, and has been shown to be highly sensitive (100%), specific (96.8%), and accurate (97.6%). ⋯ The use of other diagnostic tests such as radionuclide scans and angiography in blunt abdominal trauma has been virtually replaced by CT. Of the 41 peritoneal lavages performed in 1983, 39 were in patients who were in the operating room for treatment of other extraabdominal injuries (i.e., closed head injury, severe extremity trauma).