• Clay Cothren Burlew, Ernest E Moore, Wade R Smith, Jeffrey L Johnson, Walter L Biffl, Carlton C Barnett, and Philip F Stahel.
• Department of Surgery, Denver Health Medical Center and the University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO 80204, USA. clay.cothren@dhha.org
• J. Am. Coll. Surg. 2011 Apr 1; 212 (4): 628-35; discussion 635-7.

BackgroundPreperitoneal pelvic packing/external fixation (PPP/EF) for controlling life-threatening hemorrhage from pelvic fractures is used widely in Europe but has not been adopted in North America. We hypothesized that PPP/EF arrests hemorrhage rapidly, facilitates emergent operative procedures, and ensures efficient use of angioembolization (AE).Study DesignIn 2004 we initiated a PPP/EF guideline for pelvic fracture patients with refractory shock requiring ongoing blood transfusion at our regional trauma center.ResultsAmong 1,245 patients admitted with pelvic fractures, 75 consecutive patients underwent PPP/EF (age 42 ± 2 years and injury severity score 52 ± 1.5). Emergency department systolic blood pressure was 76 ± 2 mmHg and heart rate 119 ± 2 beats/min. Time to operation was 66 ± 7 minutes, and 65 patients (87%) underwent 3 ± 0.3 additional procedures. Blood transfusion before PPP/EF compared with the first postoperative 24 hours was 10 ± 0.8 units versus 4 ± 0.5 units (p < 0.05). The fresh frozen plasma-red blood cell ratio was 1:2. After PPP/EF, 10 patients (13%) underwent angioembolization with a documented blush; time to angioembolization was 10.6 ± 2.4 hours (range 1 to 38 hours). Mortality for all pelvic fractures was 8%, with 21% mortality in this high-risk group. There were no deaths due to acute hemorrhage.ConclusionsPPP/EF was effective in controlling hemorrhage from unstable pelvic fractures. None of these high-risk patients died due to pelvic bleeding. Secondary angioembolization was needed in a minority, permitting selective use of this resource-demanding intervention. Additionally, PPP/EF temporizes arterial hemorrhage, providing valuable transfer time for facilities without angiography. With other urgent operative interventions required in >85% of patients, combining these procedures with PPP/EF for operative pelvic hemorrhage control appears to optimize patient care.Copyright © 2011 American College of Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

20 keywords...

hide…