Avoiding splenectomy in the treatment of children with splenic injury.

Abstract

Ninety-two consecutive patients with traumatic rupture of the spleen were studied. Of the first 46 children (group A), 44 underwent splenectomy. In the subsequent group (group B) non-operative management was successful in 40 of 46 patients, five patients were operated with splenic repair, and one had the spleen removed. All the ruptures were caused by blunt trauma and the severity of the splenic injury was roughly the same in the two groups of patients. A third of the patients in each group had associated injuries, renal injury being the most common intraabdominal lesion. The median hospital stay was 8.0 days (range 5 to 28) in group A and 12.5 days (range 7 to 18) in group B. Among the 40 patients who were treated conservatively, a biphasic course was seen in 23: one or two days after the accident a period of increased pulse rate, fever and increased abdominal tenderness and pain followed, but no evidence for a delayed rupture was found. Our results of conservative treatment of splenic rupture are encouraging and show that non-operative management should be considered in most cases.