Retroperitoneal haematoma and traumas : analysis of cases observed in Legal Medicine Institute of Milan

Introduction: in traumas, the abdomen is the third most frequent hit segment of the body after head and chest, with lesions to the abdominal parenchymal organs, which get involved for their scarce elasticity and capsular resistance. Traumas which effect the abdominal retroperitoneal organs (kidneys, urethra, bledder, duodenum, pancreas, aorta and cava) and even the pelvis exist in the retroperitoneal haematoma, whose diagnosis isn’t easy. Materials: the aim of the study is a review of the deaths caused by traffic accidents in the interval time between January 1994 and December 2006. Results: The victims of traffic accidents that in the autoptic section have shown a retroperitoneal haematoma have been 221 (23% females and 77% males), of which 98 (44%) died immediately after the crash, most frequently happened on urban street. The most affected range of age has been, as of our results, the young and the adult one (21- 40 anni). 59% of victims (129 cases) has been the driver of the involved vehicle (car in 28% and motorbike in 22%). The most lethal dynamic has been the frontal crash. The causes of death are imputable in 67% of cases to multiple injuries to organs and bones. Conclusions: In cases of deaths due to politraumatic injuries, retroperitoneal organs need an accurate observation to identify the cause of death, the relation between injuries and trauma, and in cases of death from a distance, of any possibile liability, for missing surgical intervention.