Trauma is the most frequent cause of morbidity and mortality in childhood. Recently, the abdominal trauma in childhood steadily increased in number each year. Such trauma may also cause bowel perforation, either in isolation or together with other visceral injuries, and emergency operation is indicated in these cases. While principles of operative management are unchanged in the childhood, cause of injury, clinical manifestation, diagnostic difficulties and mortality may differ from that of adult. This report is based on an analysis of 18 operated cases of G-I tract perforation due to blunt trauma in children which were operated at Department of Surgery, Basan Paik Hospital, College of Medicine, Inje University during the period of 12 years from Jan. 1980 to Dec. 1991.
The results are summarized as follows ;
1) The peak age of incidence was between 6 and 10-year, comprising 55.6% of all cases. 2) There were 12 males and 6 females, a sex ratio 2 to 1.
3)´ The seasonal distribution showed the highest incidence in Spring involving 9 cases,
comprising 50.0% of all cases.
4) The cause of blunt trauma was traffic accident, fall-down, kicking, etc.
Most common cause of trauma was traffic accident involoving 9 cases(50.0%)
5) The hemoglobin levels showed 10-15mg% in 17cases(94.4%), and WBC counts
revealed over 15,000/mm´ in 14cases(77.8%).
6) The majority(12 cases) of all operated patients(18cases) were operated within 24 hours after injury.
7) As to the organs were injuried and the frequency of involvement, small bowel was most freqnently injuried in 14 cases(77.8%), followed by stomach 3 cases, duodenum 1 case.
8) 12 cases had associated injury, and among that 4 cases had more than two associated injuries.
9) Operative management was performed by simple closure in 13 cases (72.2%), resection and end-to-end anastomosis in 5 cases (27.8%).
10) Complication was occured in 7 cases, followed by wound infection 2 cases, pulmonary complication 2 cases, intestinal obstruction 2 cases, sepsis 1 case. 11) Death occured in I case, and the cause of death was result from combined head injury.
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