Edgardo S Salcedo1, Ian E Brown2, Michael T Corwin3, Joseph M Galante4. 1. University of California, Davis School of Medicine, Department of Surgery, Division of Trauma, Acute Care Surgery and Surgical Critical Care, 2315 Stockton Blvd, Room 4206, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA. Electronic address: esalcedo@ucdavis.edu. 2. University of California, Davis School of Medicine, Department of Surgery, Division of Trauma, Acute Care Surgery and Surgical Critical Care, 2315 Stockton Blvd, Room 4206, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA. Electronic address: iebrown@ucdavis.edu. 3. University of California, Davis School of Medicine, Department of Radiology, 4860 Y Street, ACC Suite 3100, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA. Electronic address: mtcorwin@ucdavis.edu. 4. University of California, Davis School of Medicine, Department of Surgery, Division of Trauma, Acute Care Surgery and Surgical Critical Care, 2315 Stockton Blvd, Room 4206, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA. Electronic address: jmgalante@ucdavis.edu.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Non-operative management is the standard of care for blunt solid organ injuries in stable patients. Angioembolization is an important technique that improves success rates of non-operative management. We aimed to provide a brief review of the indications, effectiveness and complications associated with angioembolization for solid organ injuries. METHODS: We conducted a literature search of the PubMed database using the terms "trauma", "angioembolization", and "solid organ embolization" limited to studies published in the English language. Abstracts and full text were manually reviewed to identify suitable articles. RESULTS: The current brief review is based on content from the more recently published articles related to angioembolization for solid organ injuries after trauma. DISCUSSION: Angioembolization is appropriate for hemodynamically stable patients with contrast extravasation on CT scan or high-grade injury to a solid organ. Non-operative management success rates have improved with the adoption of angioembolization. The complications associated with angioembolization are acceptable in the context of avoiding a laparotomy, and are often related to the severity of the injury. CONCLUSION: Angioembolization is a natural extension of the move towards non-operative management for solid organ injuries. Randomized controlled trials are required to fully characterize the indications and efficacy of its use.
INTRODUCTION: Non-operative management is the standard of care for blunt solid organ injuries in stable patients. Angioembolization is an important technique that improves success rates of non-operative management. We aimed to provide a brief review of the indications, effectiveness and complications associated with angioembolization for solid organ injuries. METHODS: We conducted a literature search of the PubMed database using the terms "trauma", "angioembolization", and "solid organ embolization" limited to studies published in the English language. Abstracts and full text were manually reviewed to identify suitable articles. RESULTS: The current brief review is based on content from the more recently published articles related to angioembolization for solid organ injuries after trauma. DISCUSSION: Angioembolization is appropriate for hemodynamically stable patients with contrast extravasation on CT scan or high-grade injury to a solid organ. Non-operative management success rates have improved with the adoption of angioembolization. The complications associated with angioembolization are acceptable in the context of avoiding a laparotomy, and are often related to the severity of the injury. CONCLUSION: Angioembolization is a natural extension of the move towards non-operative management for solid organ injuries. Randomized controlled trials are required to fully characterize the indications and efficacy of its use.