Background: The non-operation treatment of intra-abdominal trauma guided contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is one of the hottest research topic. Gelatin/thrombin/calcium (GTC) was developed as a novel haemostatic agent for non-operable intra-abdominal trauma. We hypothesized that GTC can achieve haemostasis (without the use of pressure) within a short time in a large wound model by percutaneous injection under CEUS guidance.
Methods: Forty Wister rats received large liver injuries by haemostatic clamp and were randomly divided into four groups, according to the haemostatic agent used. These included normal saline (NS) group A, lyophilising thrombin powder (LTP) group B, GTC group C, and absorbable α-cyanoacrylate (ACNA) group D. Each injury site was treated with one of the above materials and total bleeding time was recorded. All liver wounds were evaluated using CEUS at three periods: pre-injury, injury and post-treatment. The liver wounds were also evaluated by histology 3, 6, and 9 days after injury and the extents of abdominal adhesions were recorded.
Results: The sensitivity of CEUS (100%) in detecting blunt traumatic liver lesions was significantly higher than conventional ultrasound (42.5%). Bleeding times at the injury site in the GTC group C ((129.3 ± 14.0) seconds) and ACNA group D ((5.2 ± 1.0) seconds) were significantly shorter than those in the NS group A ((369.5 ± 48.8) seconds, P < 0.01) and LTP group B ((324.7 ± 52.22) seconds, P < 0.01). The LTP group B showed no significant difference compared with the NS group A. Gross examination of liver tissue revealed that there were fewer intra-abdominal adhesions in the GTC group C (10%) than in the ACNA group D (100%). Histopathologic examination showed that GTC was completely absorbed after nine days.
Conclusions: GTC, delivered by percutaneous injection under CEUS, may achieve haemostasis (without the use of pressure) within a short time in a large wound model. GTC is absorbable and may prevent intra-abdominal adhesions. Therefore, it may be the optimal choice for first aid treatment of large abdominal wounds in the setting of blunt trauma.