Endovascular management of haemorrhage and vascular lesions in patients with multiple and/or severe injuries: a systematic review and clinical practice guideline update.

Purpose: Our aim was to update evidence-based and consensus-based recommendations for the inhospital endovascular management of haemorrhage and vascular lesions in patients with multiple and/or severe injuries based on current evidence. This guideline topic is part of the 2022 update of the German Guideline on the Treatment of Patients with Multiple and/or Severe Injuries.

Methods: MEDLINE and Embase were systematically searched to June 2021. Further literature reports were obtained from clinical experts. Randomised controlled trials, prospective cohort studies, and comparative registry studies were included if they compared endovascular interventions for bleeding control such as embolisation, stent or stent-graft placement, or balloon occlusion against control interventions in patients with polytrauma and/or severe injuries in the hospital setting. The diagnosis of pelvic haemorrhage was added post-hoc as an additional clinical question. We considered patient-relevant clinical outcomes such as mortality, bleeding control, haemodynamic stability, transfusion requirements, complications, and diagnostic test accuracy. Risk of bias was assessed using NICE 2012 checklists. The evidence was synthesised narratively, and expert consensus was used to develop recommendations and determine their strength.

Results: Forty-three new studies were identified. Interventions covered were resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) (n = 20), thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) (n = 9 studies), pelvic trauma (n = 6), endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) of abdominal aortic injuries (n = 3), maxillofacial and carotid artery injuries (n = 2), embolisation for abdominal organ injuries (n = 2), and diagnosis of pelvic haemorrhage (n = 1). Five recommendations were modified, and one additional recommendation was developed. All achieved strong consensus.

Conclusion: The following key recommendations are made. Whole-body contrast-enhanced computed tomography should be used to detect bleeding and vascular injuries. Blunt thoracic and abdominal aortic injuries should be managed using TEVAR/EVAR. If possible, endovascular treatment should be delayed beyond 24 h after injury. Bleeding from parenchymatous abdominal organs should be controlled using transarterial catheter embolisation. Splenic injuries that require no immediate intervention can be managed with observation.