Blunt abdominal trauma may cause severe intra-abdominal injuries, while clinical findings could be mild or absent directly after the trauma. The absence of clinical findings could mislead physicians into underestimating the severity of the injury at the primary survey, and inevitably leads to a delay in the diagnosis. The Blunt Abdominal Trauma in Children (BATiC) score may help to identify children who are at a high risk for intra-abdominal injuries in an early stage and requires additional tests directly. A case of a 10-year-old girl with a duodenal perforation after a blunt abdominal trauma is presented. A delay in diagnosis may lead to an increased morbidity and mortality rate. A low admission threshold for children with abdominal pain after a blunt trauma is recommended.
2015 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.