Background: Minimally invasive preperitoneal balloon tamponade (PPB) and abdominal aortic junctional tourniquets (AAJT) have been proposed as alternatives to open preperitoneal packing (OP) for the management of pelvic fracture-associated hemorrhage. We hypothesized that the PPB (SpaceMaker Pro) and AAJT would result in similar rates of survival and blood loss versus OP.
Methods: Thirty-two swine underwent creation of a combined open-book pelvic fracture and major iliac vascular injuries. Animals were randomized to no intervention (n = 7), OP (n = 10), PPB (n = 9), or AAJT (n = 6) at a mean arterial pressure <40 mm Hg following initiation of uncontrolled hemorrhage. Survival (up to 60 minutes + 10 minutes after intervention reversal), hemodynamics, extraperitoneal pressures, blood loss, and associated complications were compared between groups.
Results: Prior to injury, no difference was measured between groups for weight, hemodynamics, lactate, and hematocrit (all p > 0.05). The injury was uniformly lethal without intervention, with survival time (mean) of 5 minutes, peak preperitoneal pressure (PP) of 14 mm Hg, blood loss of 960 g, and peak lactate of 2.6 mmol/L. Survival time was 44 minutes with OP versus 60 minutes with PPB and AAJT (p < 0.01). Peak PP (mm Hg) was 19 with OP, 23 with PPB, and 23 with AAJT (p > 0.05). Blood loss (g) was 850 with OP, 930 with PPB, and 600 with AAJT (p > 0.05). Peak lactate (mmol/L) was 3.3 with OP, 4.3 with PPB, and 6.3 with AAJT (p < 0.01). Only 33% of AAJT animals survived intervention reversal versus 60% for OP and 67% for PPB (p < 0.01). Necropsy revealed bowel/bladder injury in 50% of AAJT subjects versus 0% in all other arms (p < 0.01).
Conclusion: Preperitoneal balloon tamponade is a safe and potentially effective alternative to OP for the management of lethal pelvic fracture-associated hemorrhage. Abdominal aortic junctional tourniquet offers a similar survival benefit to PPB but has concerning rates of ischemia-reperfusion and compressive abdominal organ injury.