Traumatic pancreatic injury - An elusive diagnosis: Experience from a developing country urban trauma referral centre

Objective: To determine the frequency of pancreatic injury in patients presenting with trauma and to review the mechanism of injury, management, subsequent complications and in-hospital mortality rate associated with these patients. Methods: The retrospective study included all patients over 18 years of age presenting with pancreatic injury due to trauma at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, between January 1990 and December 2009. Patients with iatrogenic pancreatic injury were excluded. The severity of the injury was assessed using the Injury Severity Score, while it was graded according to the scale defined by the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma. SPSS 17 was used for statistical analysis. Results: A total of 30 patients were identified representing just 1.5% of the total adult abdominal trauma patients. The mean age of the patients was 28±9.7 years. There were 28 (93.3%) males and just 2 (6.6%) females. The complication rate was 80% (n=24) and the mortality rate was 23.3% (n=7). Of the 30 patients, 19 (63%) had been transferred from some other medical facility. The mean length of hospital stay was 16.4±20.6 days (range 5-97 days). Conclusion: Surgical management in pancreatic trauma patients should be dictated by the degree and location of pancreatic injury, associated injuries and time from event to presentation. Mortality was primarily determined by associated life-threatening injuries.