Ultrasound versus computed tomography scan findings in pediatric blunt abdominal traumas

We aimed to evaluate the performance of ultrasonography (US) versus computed tomography (CT) scan in detecting intra-abdominal injury among pediatric patients with blunt abdominal trauma. 

Pediatric patients aged<18, who were admitted to the emergency department (ED) due to abdominal trauma and underwent both US and CT scan were evaluated retrospectively. 

A total of 732 pediatric patients were included in this study. Pathology was detected on US of 418 (57.1%) cases, whereas, intra-abdominal pathology was detected in CT scan of 359 (48.7%) cases. The sensitivity of US in detecting pathology (fluid and/or organ injury) was 95.3%, and its specificity was 79.6%. The sensitivity of US in detecting free fluid was 94.9%, and its specificity was 80.5%. In patients with unstable and stable hemodynamic, the sensitivities of US in detection of pathology (fluid and/or organ injury) were 97.6% and 91.6%, and its specificities were 74.3% and 80.9%, respectively. 

In our study, the sensitivity of US in terms of detecting pathology in pediatrics with blunt abdominal trauma was high, whereas the specificity of US was low.