Solid Organ Injuries (Spleen, Liver, Kidneys) Nursing Priorities

Course overview

This course explores current evidence on management of blunt abdominal trauma, with a focus on nursing priorities in solid-organ injuries involving the spleen, liver, kidney, and pancreas through a case study. The advancement of technology over the last 20 years in computed tomography (CT), critical-care monitoring, and interventional radiology has transformed the approach to trauma management, introducing non-operative treatment for select patients. Participants will review epidemiology, pathophysiology, and physiology-based decision-making with an emphasis on the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) Organ Injury Scale (OIS). Detailed evaluation of splenic, hepatic, renal, and pancreatic trauma will prepare the participants for the current management options, including observation, angioembolization, endovascular adjuncts, and operative intervention. The course highlights the value of interventional radiology, hemorrhage control, and organ-preservation techniques and recognizes when surgical exploration may be necessary. Clinicians place particular focus on delayed complications, including hemorrhage, biliary leak, urinoma, pancreatic fistula, and post-traumatic infection. Clinical case study provides a comprehensive analysis of a patient with multisystem solid-organ injury as an example of multidisciplinary trauma care and clinical vigilance led by the nurse. Learners will be prepared to implement the principles of physiology-based trauma, analyze advanced imaging, and complications within the trauma framework.