Severe Bleeding in Pelvic Fractures: Considerations in Planning Damage Control

Severe bleeding due to pelvic fractures may require damage control procedures, such as preperitoneal packing. In many cases, preperitoneal packing is performed without full abdominal exploration. There are concerns that such an approach may miss major iliac vascular injuries or other intraabdominal injuries. This analysis assessed the incidence of iliac vascular and intraabdominal injuries in patients with pelvic fractures. The National Trauma Data Bank was queried for blunt trauma patients. Patients with severe pelvic fractures were observed. Common or external iliac vascular lacerations (CEIVL) and associated intraabdominal injuries were recorded. The study comprised 42,122 patients with pelvic fractures, of which 3,221 (7.6%) were severe pelvic fractures. The incidence of CEIVL in patients with severe pelvic fractures was 10.7 per cent. Patient age greater than or equal to 65 years was an independent predictor of CEIVL. A total of 34.3 per cent of severe pelvic fracture patients had severe associated intraabdominal injuries, including injuries to the bladder (26.5%) and bowel (16.7%). Severe pelvic fractures are associated with a high incidence of iliac vascular and intraabdominal injuries. Preperitoneal pelvic packing without abdominal exploration may miss these injuries.