BACKGROUND: Although blunt injury to the spleen and liver can lead to pseudoaneurysm formation, current surgical guidelines do not recommend follow-up imaging. Controversy exists regarding the clinical implications of these traumatic pseudoaneurysms as well as their management. METHODS: Retrospective review of children treated nonoperatively for isolated blunt liver and spleen trauma between 1991 and 2008 was undertaken. Patient demographics, grade of injury, and follow-up Doppler ultrasound results were obtained. RESULTS: Three hundred sixty-two children were identified. One hundred eighty-six of them had splenic injuries, and 10 (5.4%) developed pseudoaneurysms. They were associated with grade III (3/39 [8%]) and grade IV (7/41 [17%]) injuries. In 7 patients, the pseudoaneurysm thrombosed spontaneously. Angiographic embolization was required in 2 children, and one underwent emergency splenectomy for delayed hemorrhage. Of the 176 patients who had liver injuries, 3 (1.7%) developed pseudoaneurysms. All 3 were associated with grade IV injuries (3/11 [27%]). One child underwent early embolization, while 2 developed delayed hemorrhage requiring emergent treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Pseudoaneurysm development after blunt abdominal trauma is associated with high-grade splenic and liver injuries. Routine screening of this group of patients before discharge from hospital may be warranted because of the potential risk of life-threatening hemorrhage.
BACKGROUND: Although blunt injury to the spleen and liver can lead to pseudoaneurysm formation, current surgical guidelines do not recommend follow-up imaging. Controversy exists regarding the clinical implications of these traumatic pseudoaneurysms as well as their management. METHODS: Retrospective review of children treated nonoperatively for isolated blunt liver and spleen trauma between 1991 and 2008 was undertaken. Patient demographics, grade of injury, and follow-up Doppler ultrasound results were obtained. RESULTS: Three hundred sixty-two children were identified. One hundred eighty-six of them had splenic injuries, and 10 (5.4%) developed pseudoaneurysms. They were associated with grade III (3/39 [8%]) and grade IV (7/41 [17%]) injuries. In 7 patients, the pseudoaneurysm thrombosed spontaneously. Angiographic embolization was required in 2 children, and one underwent emergency splenectomy for delayed hemorrhage. Of the 176 patients who had liver injuries, 3 (1.7%) developed pseudoaneurysms. All 3 were associated with grade IV injuries (3/11 [27%]). One child underwent early embolization, while 2 developed delayed hemorrhage requiring emergent treatment. CONCLUSIONS:Pseudoaneurysm development after blunt abdominal trauma is associated with high-grade splenic and liver injuries. Routine screening of this group of patients before discharge from hospital may be warranted because of the potential risk of life-threatening hemorrhage.
Authors: Mauro Podda; Belinda De Simone; Marco Ceresoli; Francesco Virdis; Francesco Favi; Johannes Wiik Larsen; Federico Coccolini; Massimo Sartelli; Nikolaos Pararas; Solomon Gurmu Beka; Luigi Bonavina; Raffaele Bova; Adolfo Pisanu; Fikri Abu-Zidan; Zsolt Balogh; Osvaldo Chiara; Imtiaz Wani; Philip Stahel; Salomone Di Saverio; Thomas Scalea; Kjetil Soreide; Boris Sakakushev; Francesco Amico; Costanza Martino; Andreas Hecker; Nicola de'Angelis; Mircea Chirica; Joseph Galante; Andrew Kirkpatrick; Emmanouil Pikoulis; Yoram Kluger; Denis Bensard; Luca Ansaloni; Gustavo Fraga; Ian Civil; Giovanni Domenico Tebala; Isidoro Di Carlo; Yunfeng Cui; Raul Coimbra; Vanni Agnoletti; Ibrahima Sall; Edward Tan; Edoardo Picetti; Andrey Litvin; Dimitrios Damaskos; Kenji Inaba; Jeffrey Leung; Ronald Maier; Walt Biffl; Ari Leppaniemi; Ernest Moore; Kurinchi Gurusamy; Fausto Catena Journal: World J Emerg Surg Date: 2022-10-12 Impact factor: 8.165