Patients with abdominal trauma and fatal outcome: analysis of a 30-year series.

Patients with blunt abdominal trauma and fatal outcome during 30 years in a well-defined rural Swedish area have been analyzed. There were 127 patients. Several facts indicate that more severe trauma has been appearing more often during this period The mortality rate has, however, been stable, but the patients have become older. More patients die from pulmonary complications than from the trauma itself. One very important development is the significant decrease in mortality among children.