On the Feasibility of Using REBOA Technology for the Treatment of Patients with Polytrauma
Authors: Zhukov A. I. , Zadneprovsky N. N. , Ivanov P. A. , Kokov L. S. 
Published: April 2024

Introduction According to domestic and foreign authors, the leading cause of death in victims with polytrauma is blood loss. Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) is one of the new promising ways to manage bleeding in patients in a state of traumatic shock. There are a large number of publications in the world scientific literature indicating the high effectiveness of this technology in the treatment of bleeding. However, in the Russian Federation, this method has not yet entered into everyday practice, and scientific research on this matter is scarce. AIM Based on literature data and analysis of our own sample, to justify the need to use REBOA technology for the treatment of victims with polytrauma.

Material and methods A retrospective analysis of the medical records of patients with polytrauma admitted to the N.V. Sklifosovsky Research Institute for Emergency Medicine in 2021 was carried out. Data from medical records and the Results of forensic medical examinations were studied. The main sample included victims with polytrauma (Injury Severity Score, ISS, of more than 17 points) delivered from the scene of the incident in a state of traumatic shock (systolic blood pressure, SBP, of less than 90 mm Hg) and a verified source of bleeding. To assess the potential survival of victims, we used the Trauma Score and Injury Severity Score (TRISS) scale.

Results Of the 92 patients with polytrauma, 19 patients (20.6%) had indications for REBOA. The most common sources of bleeding were injuries to the pelvic ring, 14 (73.7%), abdomen, 11 (57.9%), and chest, 7 (36.8%). In 6 victims (31.5%), there were combined abdomen and pelvic injuries as the area of blood loss. The mean age of the victims was 48.8±19.9 years, the mean ISS value was 39.4±20.1. On admission, the mean SBP was 62.4±31.5 mm Hg, and heart rate — 91.8±43.3 beats/min. In 8 victims (42.1%), norepinephrine was administered immediately upon hospitalization at an average dose of 837.5±537.0 ng/kg/min. As a result of their injuries, 15 patients (78.9%) died, and 4 were discharged from the hospital. According to the Conclusions of forensic experts, the leading cause of death was blood loss in 11 (61.1%), severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) in 4 (22.2%), and infectious complications in 3 cases (16.7%).The TRISS was calculated for each patient. In order to identify the most potentially viable patients with indications for REBOA, we excluded 5 patients with severe TBI (the mean TRISS was 20.9±11.1%), and 5 patients with the TRISS of less than 50% (the mean TRISS was 10.0±14.1%), the latter died from hemorrhagic shock. Among the remaining 9 patients with higher TRISS values, 5 (26.3%) who died had the mean TRISS of 80.5±15.8%, comparable to the mean TRISS of 83.3±2.4% in the 4 survivors.

Conclusion 1. According to foreign and domestic publications, the technology of resuscitation endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) is effective for stopping internal bleeding in patients with polytrauma. 2. When analyzing our own sample of patients, it was proven that 20.6% of patients with polytrauma had indications for the use of REBOA. Most of them (78.9%) died. The main cause of death was hemorrhagic shock. 3. About a quarter of patients (26.3%) with indications for REBOA had a potentially high chance of survival. In the future, the use of this technology may reduce the number of deaths.