FREQUENCY OF DIFFERENT CLINICAL PRESENTATIONS AND OUTCOME OF TRAUMATIC SMALL BOWEL PERFORATION

DR MUHAMMAD SAFDAR NAZIR , DR MUHAMMAD FARRUKH AFTAB , DR ANWAAR INAYAT , DR ADNAN FAIZ

Objective:- The purpose of the study was to elucidate the different presentation, treatment modalities and their outcomes in term of management of traumatic small bowel perforation.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Study duration of Study and setting: The current study was conducted at Department of General Surgery, Nishtar Hospital Multan, Pakistan, from May 2025 to September 2025

Methodology: There were 40 patients selected for analysis, who met the inclusion criteria. The data for age group, gender type, body mass index (BMI), mechanism of injury, type of trauma (blunt or penetrating), clinical presentation, surgical procedure performed, complications appears after surgery, duration of stay in hospital and frequency of mortality were recorded. Statistical software, SPSS version-25 was used for data analysis. To verify that the data was normal, the Shapiro-Wilk test was performed.

Results: The results demonstrate that 40 patients were diagnosed with traumatic small bowel perforation. The majority of patients were male 27 (67.50%), while females accounted for 13 (32.5%) of cases. The mean age of patients was 34.2 ± 11.6 years. Higher values of motor vehicles accidents were found (57.50%) followed by fall from height (25%) and minimum values were recoded 17.5% for assault. The most common clinical presentation was abdominal pain (52.50%), followed by abdominal distension (22.5%) and abdominal rigidity (15%). Surgical management included primary repair in 60% of cases and resection with anastomosis in 40%. Postoperative complications occurred in 37.5% of patients, including wound infection, anastomotic leak, and peritonitis. The overall mortality rate was 17.5%. Logistic regression analysis had not identified any statistically significant variance of mortality.

Conclusion: A rare but dangerous side effect of abdominal trauma that has a high morbidity and mortality rate is traumatic small bowel perforation. Motor vehicle accidents remain the most common cause. Early diagnosis and prompt surgical intervention are essential for improving patient outcomes. Motor vehicle accidents remain the most common cause.