Evaluation of Radiological Management of Abdominal Trauma at University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Borno State

Abdominal trauma is a leading cause of injury-related mortality in northern Nigeria, and the radiological assessment pathway, from plain abdominal radiography through ultrasound to CT, determines the speed and accuracy of injury detection that guides surgical management. At the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital in Borno State, North East Nigeria, the radiological assessment practices for abdominal trauma warrant systematic evaluation. This study evaluates the radiological management pathway for abdominal trauma patients presenting to University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital. A retrospective descriptive design is applied to 180 abdominal trauma case records from 2020 to 2023. Data extracted include mechanism of injury, imaging modality sequence used, time from emergency department arrival to imaging, specific radiological findings, injuries diagnosed, and clinical management following imaging. Descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis are computed in SPSS. Available trauma radiology literature from North East Nigeria identifies FAST (focused assessment with sonography in trauma) ultrasound as the first-line abdominal trauma imaging tool, with CT being reserved for haemodynamically stable patients with equivocal FAST results. The ATLS Trauma Assessment Guidelines and the AAST injury scoring system provide the clinical reference framework. Findings are expected to reveal underutilisation of FAST and delayed CT escalation for definitive injury characterisation, reflecting resource and expertise constraints. Recommendations address FAST protocol adoption in the emergency department, radiographer FAST training, and CT imaging triage criteria for abdominal trauma at UMTH. Keywords: abdominal trauma, radiological assessment, FAST ultrasound, University of Maiduguri, Borno State.