Seatbelt sign trauma skin#

It is simply the presence of ecchymosis and/or abraded skin in the distribution of a seatbelt (i.e. Sometimes, subcutaneous bleeding along the belt line can be found in the autopsy in spite of no visible trauma sign on the body surface. If we include no rebound or guarding on physical exam along with a negative CT scan, it appears to be safe to discharge trauma patient’s with seat belt sign. The seatbelt sign is both a clinical and radiological sign. The typical seat belt sign a skin abrasion running diagonally across the chest (shoulder belt) and/or across the lower abdomen (lap belt) can be present (Fig. The authors conclude it is safe to discharge patients meeting these criteria. If the patient’s CT did not include any of these findings, there was a 0.01% chance of finding a delayed hollow viscus injury. An impact can cause mild to severe head trauma, which can leave victims confused and shaky. No bowel wall irregular contours, thickening, hematoma or airĤ. In a small retrospective review of 419 trauma patients, CT-detected free air had a sensitivity of only 50, a specificity of 95.4 and a negative predictive value of 99. No free fluid (free fluid was the leading indicator of occult hollow viscus injury)ģ. Patients with intra-abdominal injuries (39) often showed a combination of free air, free fluid, signs of bowel trauma, haemodynamic instability, and the seat belt sign. In this most recent study, a negative CT was defined asġ.

Over the past few years there have been studies pointing toward the safety of discharging blunt abdominal trauma patients with a negative CT even if they do have a seat belt sign. When people are hurt by a seat belt during a crash, one of the symptoms is seat belt sign. Traditional trauma teaching is to admit trauma patients with abdominal wall ecchymosis caused by seat belts (seat belt sign) for fear of missing a hollow viscus injury leading to peritonitis and sepsis.

Seatbelt sign trauma