COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN BLUNT ABDOMINAL TRAUMA SCORING SYSTEM (BATSS) AND CECT ABDOMEN TO DETECT BLUNT TRAUMA ABDOMEN IN ADULT PATIENTS

Introduction: Blunt trauma abdomen is the third most common cause of death following trauma. The blunt trauma scoring system (BATSS) was designed to diagnose intra-abdominal injuries and a select subset of patients for further investigations. This scoring system makes triaging easy and reduces unnecessary Computed Tomography (CT) scans, radiation exposure, and the cost of diagnosis and treatment.Objectives: To compare BATSS with Contrast-Enhanced Computed Tomography (CECT) abdomen in diagnosing blunt trauma abdomen among adults Methodology: Descriptive study with a study population of 155 adult patients coming to General surgery casualty in Government medical college Kozhikode.Results: Out of 155 patients, 89.7% males were noted and observed that 90.3% (n=140) had intra-abdominal injuries diagnosed by BATSS and CECT abdomen. Out of 140 patients with intra-abdominal injury (IAI), we observed that BATSS score greater than 8 in all patients. The sensitivity and Specificity of BATSS in diagnosing blunt trauma abdomen were 100% and 97.3% respectively. The optimal cut-off ROC curve was found to be 8.5. A BATSS score of more than 8 is a strong predictor of intra-abdominal injury.Conclusion: The BATSS based on clinical manifestations, and pelvic fractures, Focussed Assessment with Sonography in Trauma (FAST) possesses high precision and reliable diagnostic tool for blunt trauma abdomen detection and has the potential to reduce unwanted CT scans and cut unnecessary costs.