%0 Journal Article
%T Diaphragmatic rupture causing repeated vomiting in a combined abdominal and head injury patient: a case report and review of the literature
%A Dimitrios Symeonidis
%A Michail Spyridakis
%A Georgios Koukoulis
%A Grigorios Christodoulidis
%A Ioannis Mamaloudis
%A Konstantinos Tepetes
%J World Journal of Emergency Surgery
%D 2012
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1749-7922-7-20
%X We present a challenging case of a young male with combined abdominal and head trauma. Repeated episodes of vomiting dominated on clinical presentation that in the presence of a deep scalp laceration and facial bruising shifted differential diagnosis towards a traumatic brain injury. However, a computed tomography scan of the brain ruled out any intracranial pathology. Finally, a more meticulous investigation with additional imaging studies confirmed the presence of diaphragmatic rupture that justified the clinical symptoms.The combination of diaphragmatic rupture with head injury creates a challenging trauma scenario. Increased level of suspicion is essential in order to diagnose timely diaphragmatic rupture in multiple trauma patients.
%K Abdominal trauma
%K Diaphragmatic rupture
%K Multiple trauma
%K Motor vehicle accident
%K Emergency Surgery
%U http://www.wjes.org/content/7/1/20/abstract