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Setting: University teaching hospital, level I trauma center. Patients: Two hundred eighty patients were admitted to the adult trauma service with blunt splenic injury during a 4-year period. Men constituted 66% of the population. The mean (±SEM) age was 32.2±1.0 years and the mean (±SEM) Injury Severity Score was 22.8±0.9. Fiftynine patients (21%) died of multiple injuries within 48 hours and were eliminated from the study. One hundred thirty-four patients (48%) were treated operatively within the first 48 hours after injury and 87 patients (31%) were managed nonoperatively. Main Outcome Measures: We reviewed the number of units of blood transfused, intensive care unit length of stay, overall length of stay, outcome, and complications occurring more than 48 hours after injury directly attributable to the splenic injury. Results: Patients managed nonoperatively had a significantly lower Injury Severity Score (P<.05) than patients treated operatively. Length of stay was significantly decreased in both the number of intensive care unit days as well as total length of stay (P<.05). The number of units of blood transfused was also significantly decreased in patients managed nonoperatively (P<.05). Seven patients (8%) managed nonoperatively developed delayed complications requiring intervention. Five patients had overt bleeding that occurred at 4 days (3 patients), 6 days (1 patient), and 8 days (1 patient) after injury. Three patients underwent splenectomy, 1 had a splenic artery pseudoaneurysm embolization, and 1 had 2 areas of bleeding embolization. Two patients developed splenic abscesses at approximately 1 month after injury; both were treated by splenectomy. Conclusion: Significant numbers of delayed splenic complications do occur with nonoperative management of splenic injuries and are potentially lifethreatening.

Adults > or = 55 years old with blunt splenic injury are successfully treated by NOM. Although older adults had significantly greater injuries, they had similar failure rates of NOM when compared with younger adults. Older adults had significantly higher mortality, but this was not a result of their splenic injury. Therefore, age should not be a criteria for NOM of blunt splenic injury.