Tag Archives: spleen

Complications

Post-Embolization Syndrome?

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I’ve seen a number of trauma patients who have developed pain and elevated WBC after embolization of solid organs for trauma. For kidneys and main splenic artery embolization, it’s fairly common in my experience. Turns out, this phenomenon was described in 2007-2008 in patients undergoing embolization of hepatic tumors and uterine fibroids. It was termed post-embolization syndrome, and consists of pain, fever, nausea and ileus.

An article was just published in the Journal of Trauma describing this syndrome in children after splenic embolization for blunt trauma. The authors looked at their own trauma registry over a 12 year period. Yes, it took that long to find 448 children with blunt splenic injury. Of those, only 11 underwent arterial embolization (sigh of relief).

The average age was about 13 and ISS was 16 in both groups. Kids who underwent embolization were more likely to spend some time in the ICU, had a longer hospital stay (8 vs 5 days(!)), and took longer to resume their diet (5 vs 2 days). These differences occurred despite the fact that most of the embolized children had isolated splenic injuries. Additionally, the embolized children were more likely to receive blood (3 units vs none) and plasma.

My first question about this paper is, why? Broken spleens in children do not act like broken spleens in adults. The vast majority of the cases of contrast extravasation in children stops on its own without intervention. So why did we even have to find out that post-embolization syndrome occurs in children? They shouldn’t be going through this procedure anyway! Fortunately, a deeper read of the paper provides the answer. The indication for angio was splenic pseudoaneurysm in 2, and ongoing hemorrhage in the other 9. In the case of these latter 9, it did keep the children from having their spleens operated on.

Bottom line: In general, don’t send kids for splenic angiography (99.3% of kids in this study did not have it). Ongoing hemorrhage (prior to hypotension, which is an absolute indication for OR) is probably the only indication I can think of. Pseudoaneurysm and extravasation of contrast are not indications like they are in adults. But if you do have to send them, just be aware that they may develop pain, fever and ileus that will keep them in the hospital and/or ICU for a few extra days.

Reference: Transarterial embolization in children with blunt splenic injury results in postembolization syndrome: A matched case-control study. J Trauma 73(6):1558-1563, 2012.

General

Contrast Blush in Children

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A contrast blush is occasionally seen on abdominal CT in patients with solid organ injury. This represents active arterial extravasation from the injured organ. In most institutions, this is grounds for call interventional radiology to evaluate and possibly embolize the problem. The image below shows a typical blush.

Splenic contrast blush

This thinking is fairly routine and supported by the literature in adults. However, it cannot be generalized to children!

Children have more elastic tissue in their spleen and tend to do better with nonoperative management than adults. The same holds true for contrast blushes. The vast majority of children will stop bleeding on their own, despite the appearance of a large blush. In fact, if children are taken to angiography, it is commonplace for no extravasation to be seen!

Angiography introduces the risk of local complications in the femoral artery as well as more proximal ones. That, coupled with the fact that embolization is rarely needed, should keep any prudent trauma surgeon from ordering the test. A recently released paper confirms these findings.

The only difficult questions is “when is a child no longer a child?” Is there an age cutoff at which the spleen starts acting like an adult and keeps on bleeding? Unfortunately, we don’t know. I recommend that you use the “eyeball test”, and reserve angiography for kids with contrast extravasation who look like adults (size and body habitus).

Reference: What is the significance of contrast “blush” in pediatric blunt splenic trauma? Davies et al. J Pediatric Surg 2010 May; 45(5):916-20.

General

Spleen Embolization After Trauma

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Angioembolization of the spleen (AES) is part of our armementarium in the management of spleen and liver trauma. However, there are no good guidelines to help us decide exactly which patients would benefit from it. An abstract to be presented at the EAST meeting in January 2013 gives us a little more information on the actual benefits of this procedure.

The authors did a retrospective review of the management of blunt splenic injury at four busy Level I trauma centers. They looked at 1275 injured patients over a 3 year period. Here are the interesting tidbits from the study:

  • There was considerable variation in the use of AES at the 4 centers, ranging from 1% of patients to 14%. This should be no surprise because there is no real guidance available yet.
  • There was also a large degree of variation between the number of initial splenectomy performed at these centers
  • Centers that used AES more frequently had lower initial splenectomy rates
  • Patients at centers with high AES rates were 3 times more likely to leave with their spleen intact

Bottom line: This abstract correlates with my own personal experience: judicious use of angioembolization saves spleens. The real question is about which patients are best served by it. Our protocol is to strongly consider it in all high grade spleen injuries (Grade 4 and 5), and to always do it if a blush or extravasation is present. Our success rate for nonoperative management currently stands at about 94%.

Related posts:

Reference: Variation in splenic artery embolization a spleen salvage: a multicenter analysis. EAST Annual Scientific Assembly, Paper #1, to be presented January 2013.

General

When to Give Spleen Vaccines After Splenectomy for Trauma

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I’ve written previously on the (f)utility of giving vaccines after splenectomy for trauma (click here to read). However, it is more or less a medicolegal standard, so pretty much everyone gives them. The big question is, when? 

Some centers give them immediately postop, some before hospital discharge, and some during their postop visit. Who is right? The argument is that major surgery produces some degree of immunocompromise. So if the vaccines are given too early, perhaps the anitbodies will not be processed as effectively, and the response to an actual bacterial challenge might not be as good.

One prospective study randomized patients to receive their pneumococcal vaccine either 1, 7, or 14 days after surgery. IgG levels were measured before vaccination and again after 4 weeks. This study found that antibody concentrations were the same in all groups. However, functional activity of the antibodies was low in the 1 and 7 day groups, and nearly normal in the 14 day group.

Following this, a rat study looked at vaccination timing followed by exposure to pneumococcus. These animals were splenectomized, then given a real or sham vaccination at 1, 7, or 42 days. They then had pneumococcus injected into their peritoneal cavity. About 70% of all rats with sham vaccination died. Only 1.5% of the vaccinated rats died, and there were no differences based on vaccination timing.

Bottom line: Neither antibody titer studies nor rat studies easily translate into recommendations for treating overwhelming post-splenectomy sepsis (OPSS) in humans. And such a study can never be done because of the rarity of this condition (less than 70 cases since the beginning of time). It really boils down to your specific population, balancing your assurance that your patient will get it against the possibility that their immune system may not react to it as much as it could. 

At our center, we give the vaccines as soon as possible postoperatively. This ensures that it is given, and erases any doubt of what might happen if the patient does not show up for their postop check.

References:

  • Immune responses of splenectomized trauma patietns to the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine at 1 versus 7 versus 14 days after splenectomy. J Trauma 44(5):760-766, 1998.
  • Timing of vaccination does not affect antibody response or survival after pneumococcal challenge in splenectomized rats. J Trauma 45(4):682-697, 1998.

Related posts:

General

DVT Prophylaxis After Solid Organ Injury

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Nonoperative management of solid organ injury is the norm, and has reduced the operative rate significantly. At the same time, the recognition that development of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in trauma patients is commonplace creates uncertainty? Is it safe to give chemical prophylaxis with low molecular weight heparin (LMWH)? How soon after injury?

The trauma group at USC+LAC published the findings of a retrospective review of 312 patients undergoing nonoperative management for their liver, spleen or kidney injuries. They looked at chemical prophylaxis administration and its relationship to failure of nonop management of solid organ injury.

As expected, as the grade of the solid organ injury increased, so did the failure rate of nonoperative management. Administration of low molecular weight heparin, such as enoxaparin, did not increase failure rate in this study. All but one failure occurred in patients who had not yet received the injections. Likewise, two DVT and two pulmonary embolisms occurred, but only in patients who had not yet received prophylaxis. 

Bottom line: This small study offers some assurance that early prophylaxis is okay, and a few prospective studies do exist. UCSF / San Francisco General is comfortable beginning chemical prophylaxis 36 hours postop, regardless of solid organ injury. Look for more guidance on this issue in the near future. Until then, consider starting LMWH prophylaxis early to avoid complications from DVT or PE.

Reference: Thromboembolic prophylaxis with low-molecular-weight heparin in patients with blunt solid abdominal organ injuries undergoing nonoperative management: current practice and outcomes. J Trauma 70(1): 141-147, 2011.