There is higher risk of BT in trauma patients, and it is associated with a significant increase of postoperative infections. An abdominal trauma index ≥10 was found to be associated with the development of BT. This is the first study describing BT among patients with abdominal trauma, where causality is confirmed at molecular level.

‘The BT incidence here found in patients with abdominal trauma (33.3%) supports the hypothesis that physiologic alterations in trauma favor BT. Different authors had proposed the underlying mechanisms, which are frequently found in trauma: flux slow-down at the intestinal level caused by redistribution in shock state, reperfusion lesions, alterations of the intestinal bacterial ecology, gastric pH increase by antiH2 medications and proton bomb inhibitors, decrease in motor activity by sedatives, relaxants, and analgesics. These mechanisms are directly related to the surgical stress degree and the severity of the lesion. The high prevalence of enterobacteria (up to 75%) isolated from MLN cultures in different studies supports the gut hypothesis of BT, a pattern that was also found here.”

Nieves E, et al Bacterial translocation in abdominal trauma and postoperative infections. J Trauma. 2011 Nov;71(5):1258-61.  Full Text for Emory Users