Utility of Routine Laboratory Testing for Detecting Intra-abdominal Injury in the Pediatric Trauma Patient

Abstract

In the moderately injured pediatric trauma patient, (1) there is a low prevalence of laboratory abnormalities; (2) the PE combined with U/A is a highly sensitive screen for IAI; and (3) in patients with a normal PE of the abdomen and a normal U/A, laboratory testing seldom identifies unsuspected IAI.