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Pseudoaneurysm after High-Grade Penetrating Solid Organ Injury and Utility of Delayed CT Angiography. J Am Coll Surg 2023 Sep 01;237(3):433-438

Date

04/27/2023

Pubmed ID

37102573

DOI

10.1097/XCS.0000000000000730

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85179849002 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   1 Citation

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Leaving an injured solid organ in situ allows preservation of structure function but invites complications from the damaged parenchyma, including pseudoaneurysms (PSAs). Empiric PSA screening after solid organ injury is not yet established, particularly following penetrating trauma. The study objective was definition of delayed CT angiography (dCTA) yield in triggering intervention for PSA after penetrating solid organ injury.

METHODS: Penetrating trauma patients at our American College of Surgeons-verified level 1 center with American Association for the Surgery of Trauma grade ≥3 abdominal solid organ injury (liver, spleen, kidney) were retrospectively screened (January 2017 to October 2021). Exclusions were age <18 y, transfers, death within <48 h, and nephrectomy/splenectomy within <4 h. Primary outcome was intervention triggered by dCTA. Statistical testing with ANOVA/chi-square compared outcomes between screened vs unscreened patients.

RESULTS: A total of 136 penetrating trauma patients met study criteria: 57 patients (42%) screened for PSA with dCTA and 79 (58%) unscreened. Liver injuries were most common (n = 41, 64% vs n = 55, 66%), followed by kidney (n = 21, 33% vs n = 23, 27%) and spleen (n = 2, 3% vs n = 6, 7%) (p = 0.48). Median American Association for the Surgery of Trauma grade of solid organ injury was 3 (3 to 4) across groups (p = 0.75). dCTA diagnosed 10 PSAs (18%) at a median of hospital day 5 (3 to 9). Among screened patients, dCTA triggered intervention in 17% of liver patients, 29% of kidney patients, and 0% of spleen-injured patients, for an overall yield of 23%.

CONCLUSIONS: Half of eligible penetrating high-grade solid organ injuries were screened for PSA with dCTA. dCTA identified a significant number of PSAs and triggered intervention in 23% of screened patients. dCTA did not diagnose any PSAs after splenic injury, although sample size hinders interpretation. To avoid missing PSAs and incurring their risk of rupture, universal screening of high-grade penetrating solid organ injuries may be prudent.

Author List

Schellenberg M, Owattanapanich N, Emigh B, Nichols C, Dilday J, Ugarte C, Onogawa A, Matsushima K, Martin MJ, Inaba K

Author

Joshua C. Dilday DO Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Surgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin




MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Abdominal Injuries
Aneurysm, False
Computed Tomography Angiography
Humans
Male
Prostate-Specific Antigen
Retrospective Studies
Wounds, Nonpenetrating
Wounds, Penetrating