This version was machine-translated from German and has not been medically reviewed. The authoritative version is the German version.

PECARN Pediatric Intra-Abdominal Injury Rule

Seven features after blunt torso trauma – with no feature, very low risk of an intra-abdominal injury requiring intervention

Findings (in descending order of importance)

Signs of abdominal wall trauma or seat belt sign

GCS < 14

abdominal tenderness

Signs of chest wall trauma

Abdominal pain

decreased breath sounds

Vomiting

Calculation aid for healthcare professionals: the calculator reproduces what the sources cited assign to the inputs. Clinical assessment and every treatment decision remain with the treating physician. Inputs and results are not stored.

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Sources

Identifying children at very low risk of clinically important blunt abdominal injuries (Ann Emerg Med 62:107–116) Holmes JF, Lillis K, Monroe D, et al.; Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN), 2013. Original paper

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Note

Calculation aid for healthcare professionals. Clinical assessment remains with the treating physician.

Review date of the German original: 2026-11-05 · Methodology

Frequently asked questions

PECARN Pediatric Intra-Abdominal Injury Rule: What does this calculator compute?

PECARN rule (Holmes 2013) for children after blunt torso trauma: abdominal wall trauma/seat belt sign, GCS < 14, abdominal tenderness, thoracic wall trauma, abdominal pain, decreased breath sounds, vomiting – with none of these features the risk of an intra-abdominal injury requiring intervention is 0.1 % (NPV 99.9 %).

PECARN Pediatric Intra-Abdominal Injury Rule: Which sources is this calculator based on?

Holmes JF, Lillis K, Monroe D, et al.; Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN): Identifying children at very low risk of clinically important blunt abdominal injuries (Ann Emerg Med 62:107–116) (2013)