Nonoperative Management of Traumatic Aortic Pseudoaneurysms

Abstract

Background: Current blunt thoracic aortic injury (BTAI) guidelines recommend early repair of traumatic pseudoaneurysms (PSAs) due to risk for subsequent aortic rupture. Recent analyses indicate that early repair is required only in the setting of high-risk features, while delayed repair is safe and associated with lower morbidity and mortality in appropriately selected patients. To evaluate the appropriate indications for nonoperative management (NOM) of traumatic PSAs, we performed a systematic review of studies reporting outcomes for this management strategy. We hypothesized that NOM is safe in appropriately selected patients with traumatic aortic PSAs.

Methods: English language single- and multi-institutional series reporting NOM of traumatic thoracic aortic PSAs were identified by systematic literature search and review. A descriptive analysis was performed of NOM, with stratification by lesion size and patient follow-up. The primary outcomes were late aortic intervention, aortic-related death, and all-cause mortality.

Results: Eighteen studies, which included 937 patients with traumatic PSAs, were analyzed. One hundred ninety-one patients were managed nonoperatively. The primary indication for NOM was prohibitive risk for aortic repair due to severe comorbidities or concurrent injuries. Where reported, PSAs with <50% circumferential involvement accounted for 88% of lesions selected for NOM. Late interventions were required in 4% of patients. Inpatient aortic-related mortality was 2%, and all-cause inpatient mortality was 32%. Although survival at up to 4-7 years was reported, postdischarge follow-up after PSA NOM was limited to <1 year in most studies.

Conclusions: NOM of traumatic aortic PSAs is a common practice in BTAI series reporting lesion-specific management, and is associated with low rates of treatment failure. These findings suggest that routine early repair may not be required for traumatic PSAs, particularly for lesions limited to <50% of the aortic circumference. Definitive repair can be delayed until patient stability and repair timing can be guided by assessment of lesion stability on follow-up imaging.