Treatment of Liver Trauma: Operative or Conservative Management

A polymer-based systemic hemostat for managing uncontrolled bleeding

Uncontrolled bleeding is a life-threatening emergency that requires immediate intervention. Currently available on-site bleeding interventions largely rely on the use of tourniquets, pressure dressing, and other topical hemostatic agents, which can only treat bleeding injuries that are known, accessible, and potentially compressible. Synthetic hemostats that are stable at room temperature, easy to carry, field-usable, and able to stop internal bleeding at multiple or unknown sources, are still lacking. We recently developed a hemostatic agent via polymer peptide interfusion (HAPPI), which can selectively bind to activated platelets and injury sites after intravascular administration. Here we report that HAPPI is highly effective in treating multiple lethal traumatic bleeding conditions in normal as well as hemophilia models via either systemic administration or topical application. In a rat liver traumatic model, intravenous injection of HAPPI resulted in a significant decrease in blood loss and a four-fold reduction in mortality rate within 2 h after injury. When applied topically on liver punch biopsy wounds in heparinized rats, HAPPI achieved a 73% of reduction in blood loss and a five-fold increase in survival rate. HAPPI also exhibited hemostatic efficacy in hemophilia A mice by reducing blood loss. Further, HAPPI worked synergistically with rFVIIa to induce immediate hemostasis and 95% reduction in total blood loss compared to the saline-treated group in hemophelia mice models. These results demonstrate that HAPPI is a promising field-usable hemostatic agent for a broad range of different hemorrhagic conditions.

Non-operative management of blunt hepatic and splenic injury: a time-trend and outcome analysis over a period of 17 years

Background

A widespread shift to non-operative management (NOM) for blunt hepatic and splenic injuries has been observed in most centers worldwide. Furthermore, many countries introduced safety measures to systematically reduce severe traffic and leisure sports injuries. This study aims to evaluate the effect of these nationwide implementations on individual patient characteristics and outcomes through a time-trend analysis over 17 years in an Austrian high-volume trauma center.

Methods

A retrospective review of all emergency trauma patients admitted to the Medical University of Innsbruck from 2000 to 2016. Injury severity, clinical data on admission, operative and non-operative treatment parameters, complications, and in-hospital mortality were evaluated.

Results

In total, 731 patients were treated with blunt hepatic and/or splenic injuries. Among these, 368 had a liver injury, 280 splenic injury, and 83 combined hepatic/splenic injury. Initial NOM was performed in 82.6% of all patients (93.5% in hepatic and 71.8% in splenic injuries) with a success rate of 96.7%. The secondary failure rate of NOM was 3.3% and remained consistent over 17 years (p = 0.515). In terms of injury severity, we observed a reduction over time, resulting in an overall mortality rate of 4.8% and 3.5% in the NOM group (decreasing from 7.5 to 1.9% and from 5.6 to 1.3%, respectively). These outcomes confirmed an improved utilization of the NOM approach.

Conclusion

Our cohort represents one of the largest Central European single-center experiences available in the literature. NOM is the standard of care for blunt hepatic and splenic injuries and successful in > 96% of all patients. This rate was quite constant over 17 years (p = 0.515). Overall, national and regional safety measures resulted in a significantly decreased severity of observed injury patterns and deaths due to blunt hepatic or splenic trauma. Although surgery is nowadays only applied in about one third of splenic injury patients in our center, these numbers might further decrease by intensified application of interventional radiology and modern coagulation management.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s13017-019-0249-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Blunt liver trauma: a descriptive analysis from a level I trauma center

Background

We aimed to review liver injury experience in a level 1 trauma center; namely clinical presentation, grading, management approach and clinical outcomes.

Methods

It is a retrospective analysis to include all blunt liver injury patients who were admitted at the Level 1 trauma center over a 3-year period. Data were compared and analyzed based on the liver injury grades and management approaches.

Results

Blunt liver injury accounted for 38% of the total blunt abdominal trauma cases with a mean age of 31 ± 13 years. Liver injury grade II (44.7%) was most common followed by grade I (28.8%), grade III (19.1%), grade IV (7.0%) and grade V (0.4%). Blood transfusion was more frequently required in patients with grade IV (p = 0.04). Out of 257 patients with blunt liver trauma, 198 were initially treated conservatively, that was successful in 192 (97%), whereas it failed in 6 (3%) patients due to delayed bleeding from hepatic hematoma, associated splenic rupture and small bowel injury which mandate surgical intervention. Fifty-nine patients (23%) underwent emergent surgery in terms of packing, resection debridement, left lobe hepatectomy and splenectomy. Hepatic complications included biloma, pseudoaneurysm and massive liver necrosis. Subanalysis of data using the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES) classification revealed 19 patients were categorized as a WSES grade IV who needed surgical intervention without having an initial computerized tomography scanning. The overall mortality was 7.8% which was comparable among the conservative and operative group.

Conclusions

In our center, low grade liver injury in young males prevails. NOM is successful even for high graded injuries. All conservatively treated patients with high-grade liver injuries should be closely monitored for signs of failure of the non-operative management. Introducing the new WSES classification makes clear how is important the hemodynamic status of the patients despite the lesion. However, further larger prospective and multicenter studies are needed to support our findings.

Evaluation of the Safe Ischemic Time of Clamping During Intermittent Pringles Maneuver in Rabbits

BACKGROUND

The liver is the most commonly injured organ in blunt abdominal trauma. Although major hepatic bleeding may be partially controlled with portal triade clamping (the Pringle's maneuver), continuous prolonged clamping results in liver ischemia.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to determine the safe time of Pringle maneuver based on pathologic changes of liver in rabbit models.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In an experimental study, 20 New-Zealand white rabbits were selected. In laparotomy, a blunt dissector was passed through the foramen of Winslow and the hepato-duodenal ligament encircled with an umbilical tape. En masse Pringle maneuver was performed using atraumatic flexible clamps. Rabbits were divided into four groups based on Pringle maneuver time (30 minutes, 45 minutes, 60 minutes, and 75 minutes). A hepatic biopsy was performed at the beginning of operation. The degree of tissue injury was evaluated using blood markers.

RESULTS

There were five rabbits in each group. At the end of 60 minutes ischemia, only minor alterations were observed in pathological specimens. At the end of 75 minutes, hepatocyte damage and necrosis were observed. The serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (Group A: P = 0.02; Group B: P = 0.01; Group C: P = 0.0002; Group D: P = 0.01) and Aspartate aminotransferase (Group A: P = 0.03; Group B: P = 0.002; Group C: P = 0.0004; Group D: P = 0.0003) were significantly increased post-operatively. The maximum level was in the first day after operation.

CONCLUSIONS

Continuous portal triade clamping (the Pringle maneuver) during liver ischemia (30 and 45 minutes) in rabbits resulted in no ischemic change. Increasing time of clamping to 30 minutes was safe in intermittent Pringle maneuver.