Abdominal stab wounds.

The records of 57 patients with abdominal stab wounds, treated at the Surgical Departments of the Sahlgrenska Hospital, Göteborg, between 1969-1974, were revised. Fifty-five patients were males and 2 females. The wounds were situated in the upper abdomen in 72% of the patients. Forty-nine patients were treated with an explorative laparotomy and the findings were considered to be negative in 31% of these patients. Liver injuries were found in 45% of the operated patients. No complications occurred in the patients with negative laparotomy findings. One patient with multiple intra-abdominal lesions succumbed from an irreversible septic shock.