Abstract
Penetrating wounds include a wide spectrum of injuries ranging from clinically less important superficial wounds to life-threatening lesions of parenchymal organs or hollow viscera, skeletal damage, or feared vascular injuries leading to fatal bleeding. In the last decades, multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) imaging represents the ‘gold standard’ in the evaluation of patients with penetrating wounds. A correct multiphasic post-contrastographic MDCT study provides important diagnostic information such as the detection of foreign bodies and its trajectory, detection and staging of parenchymal organs, and hollow viscera injuries as well as the detection of active bleeding, differentiating hemorrhage from contained vascular lesions and from collecting system injuries. The radiologist’s role relies on the early and definite characterization of injuries, thus directing the patient toward the most appropriate and timely management. In this context, CT can help select the patient that can be safely treated nonoperatively, reduce the number of unnecessary/nontherapeutic laparotomies, or guide toward a selective interventional approach.
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Bocchini, G., Sica, G., Guida, F., Palumbo, L., Vaida, S., Scaglione, M. (2014). Foreign Bodies and Penetrating Injuries. In: Pinto, A., Romano, L. (eds) Imaging of Foreign Bodies. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-5406-6_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-5406-6_12
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