Purpose: To evaluate the diagnostic utility of bladder air distension (pneumo-CT-cystography) in the detection of bladder rupture in patients with blunt pelvic trauma.
Materials and methods: 843 patients with blunt pelvic trauma were evaluated. Intravenous contrast-enhanced CT was performed for trauma staging. 97 of 843 patients had clinical and radiological signs of possible bladder injury and underwent retrograde air distension.
Results: Among 97 patients, 31/97 showed CT signs of bladder rupture, of which 5/31 (16%) intraperitoneal, 25/31 (81%) extraperitoneal and 1/31 (3%) combined. 23 of these patients underwent surgery, which confirmed bladder injury in 100% of cases. The other 8 patients were managed conservatively, and follow-up studies showed disappearance of free air. Among the 66/97 patients with no signs of bladder injury, 38/66 had surgery, which confirmed bladder integrity, while 28/66 were managed conservatively and showed no signs of bladder rupture at clinico-radiological follow-up examinations.
Conclusions: CT evaluation of urinary bladder after retrograde air distension (pneumo-CT-cystography) may be a reliable diagnostic tool in the detection of bladder rupture in patients with blunt pelvic trauma. This technique is faster, cheaper and allows to overcome some of the limitations of conventional CT-cystography.
Keywords: Bladder rupture; Computed tomography; Emergency radiology; Ultrasound.