The American surgeon
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The objective of this study was to identify changes in the management of blunt splenic injury in adults. Hospital discharge abstract data from Maine were used to identify patients > or = 16 years old discharged between January 1, 1981 and December 31, 2000 with International Classification of Diseases (9th revision) codes indicating splenic injury. Incidence of operative intervention and outcomes for trauma hospitals and other hospitals were determined. ⋯ There has been a marked decrease in rate of operative intervention for splenic injury in adults especially in the last 10 years. Rates of operative intervention were lower at the trauma hospitals despite higher injury severity. Frequency of delayed intervention was low and did not increase with lower operative rate.