Free abdominal fluid on ultrasound in unstable pelvic ring fracture: is laparotomy always necessary?

Background: In unstable pelvic ring fractures free abdominal fluid on ultrasound (US) may be caused by retroperitoneal hematoma that passes into the abdominal cavity or by an additional intraabdominal lesion. In this study a clinical pathway for the therapy of potentially combined lesions was analyzed.

Patients And Methods: All patients treated in the ED for severe trauma underwent basic sonographical and radiologic diagnostics within 15 minutes.