The first case was an 11-year-old girl in Hanoi who suffered a spleen injury due to a household accident. Previously, while swinging on a hammock with her younger siblings, the child accidentally hit her stomach hard against the bed frame.

After the collision, the child experienced abdominal pain and pale skin. The family took the child to the local hospital for first aid, then transferred him to the National Children's Hospital for further treatment.

The second case is a 9-year-old boy in Hanoi who suffered a spleen injury after a traffic accident. The boy's mother said that while she was taking her three children home from school on a motorbike, she collided with a car going in the same direction, causing the boy sitting in front to hit his stomach hard against the motorbike and the road. Immediately afterwards, the child also showed symptoms such as abdominal pain and pale skin. The family took the child to the National Children's Hospital for emergency care.

According to specialist doctor II Nguyen Tan Hung, Deputy Head of the Emergency and Anti-Poison Department, National Children's Hospital, at the time of admission, both children showed signs of closed abdominal trauma at the site of the injury on the left flank, such as a history of abdominal trauma at the spleen site, abdominal pain, and pale skin color.

Although the vital signs of both children were within normal limits, the ultrasound images showed a lot of free fluid in the abdomen. After consultation, the doctors ordered abdominal CT scans for both children to determine the exact location and extent of the injuries. The abdominal CT scan results showed that the girl had a grade II spleen injury, and the boy had a grade III spleen injury.

Master, Doctor Nguyen Minh Khoi, examines a child patient at the General Surgery Center.

Apart from spleen injury, doctors did not detect any damage to the pancreas or other solid organs. After consultation between the Emergency-Poison Control and General Surgery departments, doctors agreed to treat the two children conservatively (without surgery).

At the General Surgery Center, the two children were given medication according to the protocol and intensive care using internal medicine. Currently, the health condition of the two children is stable and they are expected to be discharged in the next few days.

Master, Doctor Nguyen Minh Khoi, Department of Thoracic Surgery, National Children's Hospital said that the spleen is an organ that contains a lot of blood, located under the left diaphragm, has a soft density and is easily damaged when subjected to external force. In children, because the abdominal wall is still thin, the abdominal muscles are not fully developed, and organs such as the liver and spleen are shallow, the risk of damage to solid organs when a collision occurs is very high.

According to Dr. Khoi, treatment will vary depending on the severity of the injury. Severe cases, causing heavy blood loss and unstable hemodynamics, may require emergency surgery. However, with the development of diagnostic imaging and current treatment techniques, most cases of low-grade splenic injuries in children can be effectively treated conservatively without surgery.

At the General Surgery Center, National Children's Hospital, each year, about 25-30 cases of children with splenic injuries are admitted. The main causes are domestic accidents or traffic accidents. In particular, in children with underlying diseases such as splenomegaly and blood stasis (for example, patients with hemophilia, thalassemia, etc.), the risk of splenic rupture due to trauma is even higher.

Among the hospitalized cases, many cases of splenic injury were successfully treated conservatively, helping the children recover without surgical intervention.

Dr. Khoi said that children are naturally active and love to explore, but their ability to protect themselves is limited, making them susceptible to accidents and injuries. During the holidays, children are off school, families’ need to travel increases, and with the constant activities of parties, eating, and playing, young children can be at risk of many accidents and injuries such as food/chemical poisoning, falls, drowning, etc.

Therefore, to have a safe holiday, parents need to closely supervise their children, especially when participating in outdoor activities, traveling by motorbike or car; teach children skills before traveling; choose suitable places for children to play; always comply with traffic safety measures and prevent accidents and injuries.

When children unfortunately have an accident or injury, parents need to perform first aid properly and take the child to the nearest medical facility for timely first aid and treatment.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/luu-y-bao-ve-tre-dip-nghi-le-304-15-post876322.html