[A seatbelt sign following a car accident: look for internal abdominal injury].

We present three patients, a 55-year-old man, a 69-year-old woman and a 25-year-old man, with a seatbelt sign following a car accident. All 3 patients exhibited various injuries that may occur in the case of a blunt trauma, for example rib fractures. In one patient, however, symptoms of internal abdominal injury occurred several days after the accident. The presence of a seatbelt sign is associated with an increased risk of internal abdominal injury. We therefore advise a CT scan of the abdomen in patients who present with a seatbelt sign, even if abdominal ultrasound does not reveal signs of injury.