Leukocyte Count as a Predictor of Severity of Injury in Pediatric Blunt Abdominal Trauma

Ashraf Abdelhamid Ibrahim, Adel Mahmoud Ismail, Mansour Ahmed Ali and Falah Hassan Ismail

Department of Pediatric Surgery, Hamad General Hospital, Qatar
Department of Pediatric Surgery, Abulrish Pediatric Insurance Hospital, Egypt

^*Correspondance to: Ashraf Abdelhamid Ibrahim 

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Abstract:

Background and
Aim: Many pediatric trauma patients show increased leukocyte counts at presentation. These counts return to normal after resuscitation, but increase following re-bleeding or infection. This study analyzed the relationship between leukocytosis and the severity of injury in pediatric patients with blunt abdominal trauma.
Methods: Data were collected from patients aged 0 to 14 years admitted with blunt abdominal trauma from June 2009 to December 2014. The severity of injury was assessed using the Pediatric Trauma Score (PTS). PTS compared in patients with leukocyte counts ≥ 11,000/µl and <11,000/µl.
Results: Ninety-seven patients were evaluated, 81 (83.5%) males and 16 (16.5%) females, of mean ± SD age 7.75 ± 3.99 years and mean initial White Blood Cell (WBC) count 18,240 ± 8,006/µl. Mean WBC was significantly higher in patients with PTS score <12 than PTS score =12 (20,160 ± 8,870/ µl vs. 14,560 ± 4,500/µl; p<0.0001) and in patients with PTS score ≤ 8 than >8 (21,500 ± 9,016/µl vs. 16,360 ± 6.751/µl; p<0.002). In patients with bleeding episodes, leukocytosis occurred before hemoglobin concentration was reduced.
Conclusion: Leukocytosis may be a predictor of occult injury but does not reflect the severity of injury in pediatric patients with blunt abdominal trauma. Leukocytosis may, however, be predictive of bleeding episodes during the course of patient management.

Keywords:

Blunt trauma; Abdomen; Leukocytosis

Cite the Article:

Ibrahim AA, Ismail AM, Ahmed Ali M, Ismail FH. Leukocyte Count as a Predictor of Severity of Injury in Pediatric Blunt Abdominal Trauma. World J Surg Surgical Res. 2019; 2: 1107.