Blunt abdominal trauma with small bowel injury: are isolated lesions riskier than associated lesions?

Purpose: The objective of this study was to compare patients with "isolated" blunt small bowel injury (SBI) to patients with multiple intra-abdominal injuries and analyze whether delayed laparotomy affected outcome.

Methods: Medical records of patients that suffered a blunt SBI between 1994 and 2005 were reviewed. The patients were divided into two groups: those with isolated SBI and those with other associated intra-abdominal injuries ("non-isolated").