PECARN has a decision tool to identify blunt trauma patients under age 18 who are low probability for important intra-abdominal injuries. The questions to ask are:
Evidence of abdominal wall trauma/seatbelt sign
GCS <14 with abdominal trauma
Abdominal tenderness
>1 of thoracic wall trauma, vomiting, complaint of abdominal pain, decreased breath sounds
Answering no to all yields <0.1% chance of intra-abdominal trauma requiring intervention. (See MedCalc link for other calculations)
A prospective validation study in the Lancet yielded 100% sensitivity and negative predictive value in 7542 patients under age 18
This tool can likely be used to guide imaging choices in pediatric blunt abdominal trauma patients
References
Holmes JF, Yen K, Ugalde IT, Ishimine P, Chaudhari PP, Atigapramoj N, Badawy M, McCarten-Gibbs KA, Nielsen D, Sage AC, Tatro G, Upperman JS, Adelson PD, Tancredi DJ, Kuppermann N. PECARN prediction rules for CT imaging of children presenting to the emergency department with blunt abdominal or minor head trauma: a multicentre prospective validation study. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2024 May;8(5):339-347. doi: 10.1016/S2352-4642(24)00029-4. PMID: 38609287.
