Approach to an abdominal injured patient

The incidence of abdominal injury is 7-10% of all trauma cases and trends to increase the frequency by 1.6% per year. Currently, hemodynamic status and mechanism of injury is the key to abdominal injury approaches. In the patient with hemodynamic instability most of them are required immediate abdominal exploration to identify the source of bleeding and control. But in the hemodynamic stability patient, two critical questions must be clarified; 1) Does the patient have an intra-abdominal injury? and 2) If the patient has an intra-abdominal injury, which organ is involved and how severely? These answers can guide physicians to make appropriate investigations and treatments.