Clinical Research Directory

Predictors of In-Hospital Mortality in Severe Abdominal Trauma

Severe abdominal trauma is a leading cause of early death from bleeding and of later death from sepsis and organ failure. Clinicians use scoring systems to estimate the risk of dying, but most of these scores were developed and calibrated in high-income trauma systems and may perform differently in high-volume referral hospitals elsewhere, where patients frequently arrive after a prehospital delay and already in established shock. This study will prospectively follow consecutive patients aged 16 years and older admitted to a single tertiary trauma centre with severe abdominal injury over a 12-month period. Severe abdominal trauma is defined as an Abbreviated Injury Scale score of 3 or more for the abdominal region, and/or an abdominal injury requiring emergency laparotomy, laparoscopy or angioembolisation, and/or admission to intensive care for management of an abdominal injury. A total of 430 evaluable patients is anticipated. Information generated as part of routine trauma care will be recorded prospectively from arrival until hospital discharge: age, sex and comorbidity; injury mechanism, time from injury to arrival and mode of arrival; arrival physiology (systolic blood pressure, heart rate, shock index, Glasgow Coma Scale, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, temperature); admission biochemistry (arterial lactate, base deficit, pH, haemoglobin, platelet count, INR); imaging and operative findings with American Association for the Surgery of Trauma organ injury grades; transfusion and operative management; and in-hospital complications. The primary outcome is in-hospital all-cause mortality. Survivors and non-survivors will be compared, and a multivariable logistic regression model will be built to identify admission and early in-hospital variables that independently predict death. Model discrimination and calibration will be assessed and internally validated by bootstrap resampling, and performance will be compared with that of the Injury Severity Score, Revised Trauma Score, TRISS and the MGAP score. If the model is robust, a simplified integer bedside risk score will be derived and internally validated. The study is purely observational: it mandates no additional investigations, interventions or visits, and all clinical decisions remain with the attending trauma team according to institutional ATLS-based protocols. The findings are intended to support locally valid triage, transfusion and damage-control decision-making and to enable fair outcome benchmarking between comparable centres.

Obesity and Outcomes After Surgery for Thoracoabdominal and Abdominal Gunshot Injuries

This retrospective observational study evaluated whether obesity was associated with outcomes after surgery for thoracoabdominal or isolated abdominal gunshot injuries. Adult patients who underwent surgery for these injuries at a referral trauma center between 2020 and 2025 were included. Patients were grouped according to body mass index, with obesity defined as a body mass index of 30 kg/m² or higher. Clinical characteristics, injury-related variables, perioperative findings, postoperative complications, need for reoperation, intensive care unit stay, mechanical ventilation, hospital stay, and mortality were evaluated. The study aimed to determine whether outcomes differed between patients with and without obesity and to identify factors associated with postoperative morbidity and mortality.

Evaluation of the Blunt Abdominal Trauma Severity Score (BATSS) in Blunt Abdominal Trauma

Blunt abdominal trauma (BAT) is a leading cause of trauma-related morbidity and mortality, commonly caused by motor vehicle collisions, falls, and assaults. Early identification of significant intra-abdominal injury remains a major diagnostic challenge because physical examination alone has limited sensitivity in patients with altered consciousness or distracting injuries. The Blunt Abdominal Trauma Severity Score (BATSS) is a rapid bedside assessment tool that integrates clinical signs, hemodynamic parameters, and Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (FAST) findings to risk-stratify patients presenting with blunt abdominal trauma. This prospective observational cohort study aims to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and clinical utility of BATSS in adult patients presenting with blunt abdominal trauma to the Emergency Department at Assiut University Hospitals. Enrolled participants will be scored upon initial presentation and categorized into low-, moderate-, or high-risk groups to assess the score's ability to predict the definitive mode of management (operative intervention versus conservative observation), intensive care unit (ICU) admission, in-hospital mortality, and post-traumatic complications.

Alcohol, Psychoactive Drugs, Analgesics and Evaluation in Penetrating Abdominal Trauma

This prospective observational study aims to evaluate whether alcohol consumption, psychoactive drug use, or prior administration of analgesics affects the clinical evaluation and surgical decision-making process in patients with penetrating abdominal trauma. The study will be conducted in two level I trauma centers in Cali, Colombia: a public university hospital and a private university hospital, both with high volumes of trauma patients and established protocols for non-operative management using serial physical examination. In many trauma centers, serial physical examination is used to safely identify patients who require surgical intervention. However, there is concern that intoxication or altered mental status may reduce the reliability of physical examination, potentially leading to unnecessary imaging studies, delays in surgical decision-making, or non-therapeutic laparotomies. Despite this concern, available evidence supporting these assumptions is limited. Patients older than 14 years with penetrating abdominal trauma who undergo clinical evaluation to decide on surgical intervention. Patients will be classified according to the presence or absence of alcohol consumption, psychoactive substance use, or prior analgesic administration. The primary outcome is the time from hospital admission to the decision for surgical intervention. Secondary outcomes include trauma severity, need for surgery, length of hospital and intensive care unit stay, complications, and mortality. By comparing patients with and without substance exposure across two different trauma care settings, this study seeks to determine whether serial physical examination remains a reliable and safe method for clinical decision-making in this population. The results may help optimize evaluation strategies, reduce unnecessary surgical procedures and diagnostic tests, and improve the standardization of care for patients with penetrating abdominal trauma.

Effectiveness of Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound

The purpose of the study is to generate pilot data describing test characteristics of contrast enhanced ultrasound in young children with concern for abdominal trauma. The primary objective in this study is to determine the sensitivity and specificity of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) compared to abdominal Computed Tomography (CT) in the detection of abdominal solid organ injury in young children \< 8 years of age with concern for blunt abdominal trauma.