Traumatic pancreatic injuries and treatment outcomes: An observational retrospective study from a high-volume tertiary trauma center

Introduction: This study discusses a tertiary trauma center's experience involving traumatic pancreatic injuries, focusing on identification, management, and complications, aiming to provide a valuable contribution to the literature on pancreatic trauma management. Methods: We conducted a five year (2019-2023) retrospective analysis utilizing trauma registry data to identified pancreatic injuries in tier 1 and 2 activations. Pancreatic Organ Injury Scaling (OIS) and overall injury severity (ISS) was assessed using AAST scoring. Data was stratified by mechanism, management, associated injuries, and outcomes. Results: Thirty-one patients suffering firearm (48.4 %), stabbing (16.1 %), or blunt injuries (35.5 %) were investigated. Firearms correlated with diaphragm (P = 0.047), stomach (P = 0.001) and intrabdominal injury count (P = 0.0042). Robust trends were found between OIS, ISS, complication, mortality and many alike. Conclusion: In penetrating injury, increasing ISS and number of intrabdominal injuries should heighten pancreatic trauma suspicion and lower the threshold for surgical exploration, particularly when involving the diaphragm, stomach, transverse colon or spleen.