Which Pelvic Fractures Are Associated With Extravasation on Angiography?

Bleeding from pelvic fractures can result in a high mortality rate unless quickly triaged by the trauma surgeon. Upon presentation, pelvic radiography may identify fractures that require angiography with possible embolization. We sought to address which fracture patterns seen on initial x-ray are associated with extravasation on angiography.

Data from a single institution retrospective review were collected on trauma patients admitted from 2011 to 2018 with pelvic fractures that required angiography. These fractures were identified by initial pelvic x-ray in the trauma bay and include anteroposterior compression (APC), lateral compression (LC), vertical shear (VS), and combined mechanism (CM) fractures, which are graded by severity. Fracture patterns high risk for bleeding, defined as APC II, APC III, LC III, VS, and CM, were compared to low-risk fracture patterns.

Of the patients reviewed, 28 underwent pelvic angiography, 16 (57%) of which had extravasation. The difference in the incidence of extravasation between high and low-risk fracture patterns did not reach significance (36% vs 79%, P = .05). When comparing patients with acetabular fractures to those without, there was a significantly higher rate of extravasation associated with acetabular fractures (89% vs 42%, P value = .04), which were more likely to occur with LC I fractures (56% vs 11%, P = .02).

Our data suggest that traditional pelvic fracture patterns may overestimate the presence of extravasation. Acetabular fractures had a high rate of extravasation, suggesting that these fractures should be considered for early angiography with possible embolization when clinically warranted.