Discharge Stable Patients with Abdominal Stab Wounds and Negative CT

Historically, all patients with anterior abdominal stab wounds received exploratory laparotomies, and up to half of laparotomies in hemodynamically stable patients were unremarkable. This, combined with the advent of computed tomography (CT), led some emergency physicians and trauma surgeons to advocate for potential discharge as an option for hemodynamically stable patients with anterior abdominal stab wounds without peritonitis or evisceration and with negative CT results. These authors conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine whether CT is sensitive enough to allow for discharge without observation and serial abdominal examination in these patients.

They identified seven studies that included a total of 575 hemodynamic…