The role of CT in pelvic fracture. CT finding of retro-peritoneal hematoma and indication of transcatheter arterial embolization

Although retro-peritoneal hematoma accompanying a pelvic fracture has been treated by arterial ligation formerly, it is associated with a high mortality rate and a transcatheter arterial embolization has now become the first choice of treatment. Meanwhile, the usefulness of computed tomography (CT) in traumatized patient has been reported frequently. Our hospital also employs CT positively as an examination following plain radiography in the cases with pelvic fracture. However, while indication of angiography is seen in several reports, the amount of retro-peritoneal hematoma as an index has not been reported. In the present study, we examined 112 patients given CT at the time of examination at the emergency center of our hospital between April 1, 1988, and June 30, 1997, and classified the amount of retro-peritoneal hematoma on CT into 5 groups to discuss indication of angiography. In the cases with moderate or massive amount of retro-peritoneal hematomas, cases with shock state exceeded 60% and the amount of hematoma was considered to reflect the circulation profile to a certain extent. As the amount of retro-peritoneal hematoma increased, the number of cases given embolization also increased; embolization was performed in 29 cases (61.7%) among those which had moderate or massive amount of hematoma. From the above findings, it was predicted that the amount of retro-peritoneal hematoma could be one of the deciding factors for indication of angiography. However, as there are cases falling into a shock state due to gradual increase of hematoma or associated with injuries in other organs, careful observation is needed for the cases judged out of indication. (author)