Traumatic diaphragmatic rupture with liver laceration in a 2-year-old child after blunt abdominal trauma: A case report

• Main Authors: Navdeep Dhaliwal, Anshul Grover, Ashish Dharmik
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2021-01-01
• Series: Journal of Pediatric Critical Care
• Subjects: liver laceration; pediatric trauma; traumatic diaphragmatic rupture
• Online Access: http://www.jpcc.org.in/article.asp?issn=2349-6592;year=2021;volume=8;issue=4;spage=208;epage=211;aulast=Dhaliwal

Diaphragmatic rupture after blunt abdominal trauma is a rare entity in pediatric age group. We report a 2-year-old child who presented to us with respiratory distress after he fell from bike. Initial evaluation had a suspicion of pneumothorax, but computed tomography scan confirmed that he had a diaphragmatic tear along with herniation of abdominal contents in left hemithorax. The child was managed successfully with open surgical approach. Since there are no specific signs and symptoms to diagnose this condition, high index of suspicion should be kept in all cases of abdomino-thoracic injuries.