PMID- 12897883
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20030917
LR  - 20041117
IS  - 1175-8716 (Electronic)
IS  - 0028-8446 (Linking)
VI  - 116
IP  - 1178
DP  - 2003 Jul 25
TI  - Liver injury in children: causes, patterns and outcomes.
PG  - U515
AB  - AIM: To compare the causes, patterns and outcomes of hepatic trauma in children 
      with those in adults. METHODS: A retrospective audit was conducted of a five-year 
      period from 1996 of adults and children admitted to Christchurch Hospital with 
      liver injuries. Details of age, mechanism of injury, injury severity score (ISS), 
      radiological grade of liver injury, operations and mortality were recorded and 
      analysed. RESULTS: There were 93 liver injuries over the five-year period: 22 in 
      children and 71 in adults. The median age of each group was 7 and 29 years 
      respectively. The most common causes of injury in children were bicycle (7/22) 
      and motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) (7/22). The majority (37/71) of adult injuries 
      were caused by MVAs. The median length of hospital stay was significantly shorter 
      in the paediatric group: 4 days (range 1-12) in children vs 9 days (range 0-52) 
      in adults. CONCLUSIONS: Liver trauma in children has a different spectrum of 
      causes, and results in more severe liver injury than in adults. However, children 
      are more likely to have an isolated liver injury that results in a shorter length 
      of stay in hospital. A nationwide paediatric-injury surveillance system might 
      allow better identification of preventable causes of injury.
FAU - Wakeman, Christopher
AU  - Wakeman C
AD  - Department of General Surgery, Christchurch Hospital, Christchurch.
FAU - Beasley, Spencer
AU  - Beasley S
FAU - Pearson, Scott
AU  - Pearson S
FAU - Frizelle, Frank
AU  - Frizelle F
FAU - Gooding, Andrew
AU  - Gooding A
FAU - Sharr, Jeremy
AU  - Sharr J
FAU - Dobbs, Bruce
AU  - Dobbs B
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20030725
PL  - New Zealand
TA  - N Z Med J
JT  - The New Zealand medical journal
JID - 0401067
SB  - IM
MH  - Accidents, Traffic/mortality/statistics & numerical data
MH  - Adult
MH  - Aged
MH  - Aged, 80 and over
MH  - Bicycling/injuries
MH  - Child
MH  - Child, Preschool
MH  - Female
MH  - Humans
MH  - Infant
MH  - Injury Severity Score
MH  - Liver/*injuries
MH  - Male
MH  - Middle Aged
MH  - New Zealand/epidemiology
MH  - Prognosis
MH  - Retrospective Studies
MH  - Wounds, Nonpenetrating/epidemiology
EDAT- 2003/08/05 05:00
MHDA- 2003/09/18 05:00
CRDT- 2003/08/05 05:00
PHST- 2003/08/05 05:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2003/09/18 05:00 [medline]
PHST- 2003/08/05 05:00 [entrez]
PST - epublish
SO  - N Z Med J. 2003 Jul 25;116(1178):U515.