Correlation of White Blood Cell Count as a Predictive Factor of Severity in Early Blunt Abdominal Trauma

Background: The association between white blood cell (WBC) count and intra- abdominal organ injury in cases of blunt abdominal trauma remains under investigation. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of WBC count in assessing the early blunt abdominal trauma severity.Objectives: The study aimed to examine the relationship between the count of WBCs and the severity of blunt abdominal trauma in the early stage.Materials and Methods: A cohort study was carried out From June 2023 to January 2024, enrolling adults who experienced blunt abdominal trauma. Upon admission, the patients' (WBC) counts were measured, and they were divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of intra-abdominal organ injury.Results: The study included [120] patients with blunt abdominal trauma. A significant difference in WBC count was observed between patients with organ injury (mean: 15.88±4.4) and those without injury (mean: 10.35±3.7) (p-value: 0.0001). WBC count thresholds of ≥9.9, ≥11.5, and ≥13.35 demonstrated varying levels of sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy in discriminating severity.Conclusion: The study highlights the diagnostic performance of WBC count in assessing early blunt abdominal trauma severity. Elevated WBC count was strongly correlated with the presence of intra-abdominal organ injury. However, a normal WBC count alone cannot rule out the possibility of abdominal injury. WBC count should be considered as an additional parameter in conjunction with clinical assessment and other diagnostic measures.