REBOA Use, Practices, Characteristics, and Implementations Across Various US Trauma Centers

Area of Science:

• Trauma Surgery
• Emergency Medicine
• Surgical Innovation

Background:

• Hemorrhage is a leading cause of trauma mortality.
• Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) is a controversial hemostatic technique in civilian trauma.
• Understanding current REBOA practices is crucial for its potential wider adoption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate current Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) practices among trauma surgeons.
• To analyze surgeon and trauma center characteristics, implementation details, patient demographics, and opinions regarding REBOA.
• To identify barriers and facilitators for REBOA use in trauma care.

Main Methods:

• An anonymous 30-question online survey was distributed to active trauma surgeons.
• The survey focused on Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) usage, deployment locations, and patient characteristics.
• Data from 345 respondents were analyzed to assess current practices and perceptions.

Main Results:

• Only 37.7% of respondents viewed Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) favorably, with 50.1% undecided.
• Nearly half (49.3%) of surgeons reported deploying REBOA at least once in the past two years, primarily in blunt trauma.
• Specific aortic zones for REBOA deployment correlated with injury patterns (pelvic vs. intra-abdominal).

Conclusions:

• Current Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) utilization and understanding of indications are limited among surveyed trauma surgeons.
• While REBOA deployment patterns align with existing guidelines, more research is essential.
• Further studies on indications, patient selection, and outcomes are needed to enhance surgeon perception and increase REBOA use.