Abstract
Initial management of extremity trauma should focus on control of bleeding and pelvic fixation/splinting of obvious fractures, followed by the evaluation and stabilization of the ABCs and resuscitation efforts as necessary after arrival to the hospital. CT pelvis with IV contrast is ideal for the localization of active pelvic bleeding, as it can also evaluate for expanding hematomas, fractures, and other injuries to the bowel and bladder. The four main categories of pelvic fractures include lateral compression, anterior-posterior compression, vertical shear, and combined, with prototypical trauma mechanisms and associated vascular injury patterns for each. Patients who are hemodynamically unstable despite resuscitation with imaging findings of intraperitoneal hemorrhage and hard signs of vascular injury should undergo emergent surgical exploration and repair. Patients who remain hemodynamically unstable after intra-abdominal injuries have been ruled out and despite pelvic fixation should undergo emergent pelvic arteriography with embolization, as should patients who are hemodynamically stable with findings of continued pelvic bleeding.
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Guan, J.J. (2022). Pelvis. In: Chand, R., Eltorai, A.E.M., Healey, T., Ahn, S. (eds) Essential Interventional Radiology Review. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84172-0_48
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