Traumatic aortic rupture

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Traumatic aortic rupture
ICD-10 S25.0, S35.0
ICD-9 901.0, 902.0

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Synonyms and keywords: traumatic aortic disruption; transection

Overview

Traumatic aortic rupture is a condition in which the aorta, the largest artery in the body, is torn or ruptured as the result of trauma.

Pathophysiology

Sheer Mechanism

The injury is usually caused by high speed impacts such as those that occur in vehicle collisions and serious falls.[1] The location of the initial aortic tear is usually at the point in the proximal descending aorta with the greatest sheer where the relatively free and mobile aortic arch joins to the fixed descending aorta (ligamentum arteriousm). This junction of the free and fixed part of the aorta is at the greatest risk of transection as a result of the shearing forces due to sudden deceleration [2] . Frontal or side impacts in motor vehicle accidents and falls from substantial heights pose the greatest risk of sheer.

Compressive Mechanism

Other postulated mechanisms for aortic injury are compression between the sternum and the spine,

Elevated Intra-aortic Pressure Mechanism

A sudden, dramatic rise in intra-luminal aortic pressure at the time of impact may contribute to aortic rupture.

By far the most common site for tearing in traumatic aortic rupture is the aortic isthmus, near where the left subclavian artery branches off from the aorta.[3][4]

The aorta may also be torn at the point where it is connected to the heart. The aorta may be completely torn apart from the heart, but patients with such injuries very rarely survive for very long after the injury; thus it is much more common for hospital staff to treat patients with partially torn aortas.[1] When the aorta is partially torn, it may form a "pseudoaneurysm". In patients who do live long enough to be seen in a hospital, a majority have only a partially torn blood vessel, with the layer called the adventitia still intact.[5] In some of these patients, the adventitia and nearby structures within the chest may serve to prevent severe hemorrhage.[5]

Causes

Natural History, Complications, Prognosis

The condition is frequently fatal due to the massive bleeding that results from the rupture. Since the aorta branches directly from the heart to supply blood to the rest of the body, the pressure within it is very great, and blood may be pumped out of a tear in the blood vessel very rapidly. This can quickly result in hemorrhagic shock and death.

Death occurs immediately after traumatic rupture of the thoracic aorta 75% to 90% of the time since bleeding is so severe, and 80 to 85% of patients die before arriving at a hospital.[5] Though there is a concern that a small, stable tear in the aorta could enlarge and cause complete rupture of the aorta and heavy bleeding, this may be less common than previously believed as long as the patient's blood pressure does not get too high.[5]

Patients who survive to hospital admission generally have a partial tear with pseudoaneurysm formation.

Epidemiology and Demographics

Traumatic aortic rupture is a common killer of victims of automotive accidents and other traumas,[1] with up to 18% of deaths that occur in automobile collisions being related to the injury.[5] In fact, aortic disruption due to blunt chest trauma is the second leading cause of injury death (behind traumatic brain injury).[6]

Diagnosis

Symptoms

The condition is difficult to detect and may go unnoticed. Most patients have no symptoms. However, a minority of patients may have some of the following symptoms[1]:

The diagnosis is further complicated by the fact that many patients with the injury experienced multiple other serious injuries as well,[7] so the attention of hospital staff may be distracted from the possibility of aortic rupture.

CT

The preferred method of diagnosis is aortography.

Chest X Ray

Though not completely reliable, chest X-rays are sometime used to diagnose the condition. Signs include aortic dilation and hemothorax.

Chest Tube Drainage

If a chest tube drains a large amount of bright red arterial blood, or if there is sustained drainage of over 200mls, then aortic rupture should be suspected and the patient should undergo thoracotomy.

Treatment

Traumatic aortic rupture is treated with surgery. However, morbidity and mortality rates for surgical repair of the aorta for this condition are among the highest of any cardiovascular surgery.[6] For example, surgery is associated with a high rate of paraplegia,[8] because the spinal cord is very sensitive to ischemia (lack of blood supply), and the nerve tissue can be damaged or killed by the interruption of the blood supply during surgery.

Since a high blood pressure could exacerbate the tear in the aorta or even separate it completely from the heart, which would almost inevitably kill the patient, hospital staff take measures to keep a patient's blood pressure low.[1] Such measures include giving pain medication, keeping the patient calm, and avoiding procedures that could cause gagging or vomiting.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Schrader L, Carey MJ (2000). "Traumatic Aortic Rupture". The Doctor Will See You Now. interMDnet Corp. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
  2. Rittenhouse EA, Dillard DH, Winterscheid LC, Merendino KA (1969). "Traumatic rupture of the thoracic aorta: a review of the literature and a report of five cases with attention to special problems in early surgical management". Ann. Surg. 170 (1): 87–100. PMID 5789533.
  3. Phillips BJ (2001). "Traumatic Rupture Of The Thoracic Aorta: An Endoluminal Approach". The Internet Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. 4 (1). ISSN 1524-0274.
  4. McKnight JT, Meyer JA, Neville JF (1964). "Nonpenetrating Traumatic Rupture of the Thoracic Aorta". Ann. Surg. 160: 1069–72. PMID 14246145.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Rousseau H, Soula P, Perreault P; et al. (1999). "Delayed treatment of traumatic rupture of the thoracic aorta with endoluminal covered stent". Circulation. 99 (4): 498–504. PMID 9927395.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Plummer D, Petro K, Akbari C, O'Donnell S (2006). "Endovascular repair of traumatic thoracic aortic disruption". Perspectives in vascular surgery and endovascular therapy. 18 (2): 132–9. doi:10.1177/1531003506293453. PMID 17060230.
  7. Vloeberghs M, Duinslaeger M, Van den Brande P, Cham B, Welch W (1988). "Posttraumatic rupture of the thoracic aorta". Acta Chir. Belg. 88 (1): 33–8. PMID 3376665.
  8. Attar S, Cardarelli MG, Downing SW; et al. (1999). "Traumatic aortic rupture: recent outcome with regard to neurologic deficit". Ann. Thorac. Surg. 67 (4): 959–64, discussion 964-5. PMID 10320235.

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