Severe liver injury successfully treated with transarterial embolization using carbon dioxide angiography: A case report.

Angiography using carbon dioxide (CO2) has gained attention as a method of inducing active bleeding in patients for whom bleeding cannot be detected with iodine contrast medium (ICM). We experienced a case in which CO2 angiography was performed during transarterial embolization (TAE) for severe liver injury with active bleeding. A woman in her 40s was struck by a minitruck while crossing the road and rushed to our hospital. Upon admission, she was in shock vital with blood pressure of 75/38 mmHg and pulse rate of 130 bpm. Blood transfusion was promptly started after arrival and her blood pressure increased. Abdominal ultrasonography showed echo free space in Morrison's pouch. Contrast-enhanced CT showed deep liver laceration in the right lobe and intra-abdominal hemorrhage with active bleeding. We selected TAE for hemostasis. ICM angiography showed extravasation of contrast medium from the anterior and posterior segmental branches, which was embolized with a gelatin sponge. After embolization, CO2 angiography revealed new extravasation that could not be detected by ICM, which was additionally embolized. There was no rebleeding or pseudoaneurysm after embolization. In TAE for deep liver injury, ICM alone may underestimate active bleeding. CO2 angiography may lead to better outcomes when injured vessels are reliably identified and TAE is performed.

Efficacy of median sacral artery embolization for treating severe pelvic fractures: a retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: Transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) of bilateral internal iliac arteries (IIAs) in patients with a hemodynamically unstable pelvic fracture is associated with a low mortality rate. The persistence of unstable hemodynamics after IIA embolization indicates the involvement of other arteries, such as the median sacral artery (MSA). This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of MSA embolization. METHODS: In this single-center, retrospective, observational study, medical records of patients who underwent MSA angiography or embolization for pelvic fractures (n = 21) between January 2007 and August 2019 were reviewed. The percentage of patients achieving hemodynamic stabilization by MSA embolization was calculated. RESULTS: Fifteen patients underwent MSA embolization, and the remaining six underwent MSA angiography. The shock index value was significantly higher after MSA embolization than that before MSA embolization in hemodynamically unstable patients who underwent this procedure. The success rate of MSA selection was 100%. One patient presented with urinary retention because of bladder and rectal disorders after MSA embolization. The 30-day survival rate was 85.7%. CONCLUSIONS: Severe pelvic fractures, such as a Dennis Zone III fracture and suicidal jumper's fracture due to trauma from a fall, may require MSA embolization.