Surgery today
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Non-operative management (NOM) of hemodynamically stable patients with blunt splenic injury (BSI) is the standard of care, although it is associated with a potential risk of failure. Hemodynamically unstable patients should always undergo immediate surgery and avoid unnecessary CT scans. Angioembolization might help to increase the NOM rates, as well as NOM success rates. ⋯ All patients presenting with stable hemodynamics underwent an immediate CT-scan; angiography with embolization was performed in 54 cases for active contrast extravasation or in cases with grade V lesions even in absence of active bleeding. Proximal embolization was preferentially used for high-grade injuries. After a critical review of the cases treated during the past 5 years during a monthly clinical audit meeting, a clinical algorithm has been developed with the aim of standardizing the clinical management of BSI by a multidisciplinary team to include every patient within the correct diagnostic and therapeutic pathway, in order to improve the outcomes by potentially decreasing the NOM failure rates and to optimize the utilization of resources.