Blunt Trauma of the Aorta, Current Guidelines

Abstract

Blunt thoracic aortic injury remains a major cause of prehospital deaths. For patients who reach the hospital alive, diagnosis and management have undergone dramatic changes over the last 50 years. Computed tomography scanning is the imaging modality of choice for injury diagnosis and repair planning. Medical management with antihypertensives dramatically decreases the risk of rupture, allowing for delayed repair, while abnormal physiology and more immediately life-threatening injuries can be addressed. Endovascular techniques and endograft technology have reduced significantly the risks associated with repair. However, the incidence of late complications associated with the devices currently available is not known.

Keywords: Aortic transection; Blunt injury; Diagnosis; Endovascular repair; Management; Pseudoaneurysm; TEVAR; Thoracic aorta.