Efficacy and procedural time of angioembolization in ongoing pelvic fracture hemorrhage

ObjectiveTo study the effectiveness and procedural time of different techniques of angioembolization, in patients with hemorrhage associated with pelvic fracture.Patients and methodsCase series study of 17 patients underwent angiography and 16 of them underwent embolization for treatment of hemorrhage associated-pelvic fracture. The total time spent for angioembolization, the actual time of work, and the sum of time of patient transport, preparation and compression of the femoral puncture were calculated.ResultsTranscatheter arterial embolization was successful at stopping the pelvic arterial bleeding in all 16 (100%) patients. The actual time spent in angioembolization; ranged from 18 to 110 min (mean = 63.3). The time lapsed for patient transport between the trauma unit and angiography suite, patient preparation and compression of the femoral puncture ranged from 20 to 40 min (mean = 29.5). Bilateral occlusion of the internal iliac main trunk was the fastest effective technique (mean time 22 min). The survival rate was 76.5%, and none of deaths resulted from ongoing hemorrhage.ConclusionEmbolization among patients bleeding from pelvic fractures is very effective at arresting pelvic arterial hemorrhage. Angioembolization should not be considered a time consuming procedure, if the technique is well-tailored to the general condition of the patient.