Traumatic hemoperitoneum in 28 cases: a retrospective review.

This study was conducted to evaluate and describe presenting clinical signs, course, management, and outcome of small animal patients that suffered severe traumatic hemoperitoneum. The medical records of 28 blunt trauma patients diagnosed as having hemoperitoneum and requiring the transfusion of blood products for stabilization were analyzed. The survival rate was 16/28 (57%). Six patients died from natural causes, and six patients were euthanized. Euthanized patients were not considered for the analysis of outcome. The survival rates for six animals that had surgical intervention and 16 animals that were treated medically were 67% and 75%, respectively. Statistically, larger animals had a better prognosis (p less than 0.05, unpaired t-test) for survival. Presenting clinical signs, packed cell volume (PCV), peripheral pulse rate, effusion PCV, site of intra-abdominal hemorrhage, and age were not found to correlate statistically with survival nor with the decision to perform an abdominal exploratory.