Background: Blunt abdominal trauma (BAT) in children remains a potentially severe emergency,
particularly in low-resource countries where access to advanced imaging is limited. To describe the
epidemiological characteristics, injured organs, management modalities, and clinical outcomes of
pediatric BAT at a Hospital in Douala.
A retrospective study was conducted from January 2023 to December 2024 including children aged
0–15 years admitted for blunt abdominal trauma. Demographic data, mechanisms of injury, affected
organs, hemoperitoneum, AAST classification, interventions performed, length of hospital stay, and
outcomes were analyzed. Statistical tests included Fisher’s exact test and the Mann–Whitney test.
Among 320 pediatric trauma admissions, 22 cases of BAT were identified (6.9%). The mean age was 7.2
years; 59% were boys. Road traffic accidents accounted for 59.1% of cases. Injured organs included
the spleen (50%), liver (40.9%), and kidney (9.1%). Non-operative management was applied in 90.9%
of cases. Outcomes were favorable in 95.5%, with one death (4.5%) related to polytrauma. The Mann–
Whitney test showed no significant difference in hospital stay between hepatic and splenic injuries (p =
0.905). Fisher’s exact test showed no statistically significant association between hemoperitoneum and
unfavorable outcome (p = 0.45).
Conclusion: Blunt abdominal trauma in children is relatively uncommon but clinically significant. Nonoperative
management is safe and effective in hemodynamically stable patients, even in resource-limited
settings.
