Colon trauma: analysis of the medical records of 165 patients at the Hospital Universitario del Valle, Cali, Colombia

Abstract

The clinical charts of 165 patients who sustained colonic trauma were reviewed. Most patients (92%) were in the age group of 15 to 44 years. The man and woman ratio was 10:1. Stab wounds caused the lesion in 51% of the patients; in 43%, it was caused by gunshot and wounds; and in the remaining 6%, it was caused by closed trauma; 44.8% of the patients had right colonic lesions, 45.5% had left colonic lesions, and both portions were injured in 3%. The retroperitoneal rectum was compromised in 6.7% of the patients; 69.7% of the patients had other intraabdominal organs injured, and 53.9% had two or more organs injured other than the injured colon; 27.9% of the patients had extra-abdominal trauma.

Primary closure was done in 68.5% of the patients, colostomy in 24.8%, and colonic exteriorization in 4.9%. In 1.8% of cases, this information was not available. An aminoglycoside and chloramphenicol were combined in 53.3% of the patients to cover aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. Postoperative morbidity was present in 51.5% of the patients. Wound infection was present in 21.8% of the patients, and it was the most frequent complication, followed by an intraabdominal abscess in 12.7% of the patients. The overall mortality rate was 9.7%.