Are severity and location of facial trauma risk factors for cervical spine injuries? 10-year analysis based on the use of the AO spine injury classification and the comprehensive facial injury (CFI) score

PURPOSE

This study aims to demonstrate a correlation between cervical spine injury and location and severity of facial trauma.

METHODS

We did a 10-year retrospective analysis of prospectively collected patients with at least one facial and/or cervical spine injury. We classified facial injuries using the Comprehensive Facial Injury (CFI) score, and stratified patients into mild (CFI < 4), moderate (4 ≤ CFI < 10) and severe facial trauma (CFI ≥ 10). The primary outcome was to recognize the severity and topography of the facial trauma which predict the probability of associated cervical spine injuries.

RESULTS

We included 1197 patients: 78% with facial injuries, 16% with spine injuries and 6% with both. According to the CFI score, 48% of patients sustained a mild facial trauma, 35% a moderate one and 17% a severe one. The midface was involved in 45% of cases, then the upper facial third (13%) and the lower one (10%). The multivariate analysis showed multiple independent risk factors for associated facial and cervical spine injuries, among them an injury of the middle facial third (OR 1.11 p 0.004) and the facial trauma severity, having every increasing point of CFI score a 6% increasing risk (OR 1.06 p 0.004).

CONCLUSIONS

Facial trauma is a risk factor for a concomitant cervical spine injury. Among multiple risk factors, severe midfacial trauma is an important red flag. The stratification of facial injuries based on the CFI score through CT-scan images could be a turning point in the management of patients at risk for cervical spine injuries before imaging is available.

Clinical outcomes of primary arterial embolization in severe hepatic trauma: A systematic review

PURPOSE

This purpose of this systematic review was to determine the safety and efficacy of arterial embolization as the primary treatment for grade III-V liver trauma, excluding the postoperative use of arterial embolization.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A total of 24 studies published between January 2000 and June 2018 qualified for inclusion in this study. Four of them were prospective studies and 20 were retrospective. A total of 3855 patients (mean age, 33.5 years; range: 22-52.5 years) were treated non-operatively and 659 patients (659/3855; 17.09%) with hepatic hemorrhage underwent primary arterial embolization from 2000 to 2017. Indication for arterial embolization was a contrast blush visible on computed tomography in hemodynamically stable patient in all studies.

RESULTS

The arterial embolization success rate ranged from 80% to 97%. The most commonly reported complication was bile leak, with an incidence of 5.7%. Nineteen bilomas (2.8%) were reported in five studies with a range between 4% and 45%. Hepatic ischemia was reported in eight studies, with a mean incidence of 8.6%.

CONCLUSION

Primary arterial embolization has a high success rate in patients with hepatic trauma. Complications, including biloma and hepatic ischemia, have acceptable rates in the context of a minimally-invasive procedure that allows stabilization of life-threatening, complex liver injuries.