Journal of Volgograd State Medical University · Jul 7, 2026

Age as a risk factor for adverse outcomes in blunt abdominal trauma complicated by peritonitis

By Александров ВВ, Maskin SS, Biriulev DS et al.

The significance of the risk factor for mortality in patients with blunt abdominal trauma (BAT) complicated by generalized peritonitis (GP) has not been reliably confirmed, which complicates an objective, integrated assessment of the risk factor as a whole. The aim of the study: to determine the significance of age as a risk factor for adverse treatment outcomes in patients with BAT and GP who underwent laparotomy (LT) and relaparotomy (RLT). Hypothesis tested: Age is a risk factor for BAT and GP. Research methodology: Study design: retrospective cohort. 63 patients with RT and RP were included in 4 groups: I – single laparotomy (16), II – relaparotomy (RLT) "on demand" (T) (17), III – RLTT with transition to programmed RLT (13), IV – initially programmed RLT (17). All patients were operated on in Volgograd City Clinical Hospital No. 25, a level 3 trauma center, in the period 2005–2025. Statistical processing and analysis of the results by nonparametric statistics methods using Microsoft Excel 2019 and SPSS Statistics 26. The results of the research: Patients in older age groups were more likely to die. Age is a strong risk factor: mortality increases significantly with age (p = 0.003, Pearson chi-square). Age has a statistically significant effect on mortality (Fisher's exact test (3×2) p = 0.0005). The strength of the association between age and mortality is moderate (Cramer's V ≈ 0.5). OR 3.33 (95 % CI 1.03–10.8). The risk of death in the 45–59-year-old group is 3.3 times higher than in the 18–44-year-old group. Conclusions: Age is a strong risk factor for BAT and GP – mortality increases significantly with age, especially over 60 years (p 0.001), regardless of gender (p = 0.56). Integrating this parameter into clinical decision-making can enhance risk stratification and improve patient management.

doi.org/10.19163/1994-9480-2026-23-2-123-129 Open access Populations