Delayed embolization associated with increased mortality in pelvic fracture with hemodynamic stability at hospital arrival

Background Embolization is widely used for controlling arterial hemorrhage associated with pelvic fracture. However, the effect of a delay in embolization among hemodynamically stable patients at hospital arrival with a pelvic fracture is unknown. Therefore, our aim was to investigate the association between the time to embolization and mortality in hemodynamically stable patients at hospital arrival with a pelvic fracture. Methods A multicenter, retrospective cohort study was undertaken using data from the Japan Trauma Data Bank between 2004 and 2018. Hemodynamically, stable patients with a pelvic fracture who underwent an embolization within 3 h were divided into six groups of 30-min blocks of time until pelvic embolization (0–30, 30–60, 60–90, 90–120, 120–150, and 150–180 min). We compared the adjusted 30-day mortality rate according to time to embolization. Results We studied 620 hemodynamically stable patients with a pelvic fracture who underwent pelvic embolization within 3 h of hemorrhage. The median age was 68 (48–79) years and 55% were male. The median injury severity score was 26 (18–38). Thirty-day mortality was 8.9% (55/620) and 24-h mortality was 4.2% (26/619). A Cochran–Armitage test showed that a 30-min delay for embolization was associated with increased 30-day (p = 0.0186) and 24-hour (p = 0.033) mortality. Mortality within 0–30 min to embolization was 0%. The adjusted 30-day mortality rate increased with delayed embolization and was up to 17.0% (10.2–23.9) for the 150–180 min group. Conclusion Delayed embolization was associated with increased mortality in pelvic fracture with hemodynamic stability at hospital arrival. When you decide to embolize pelvic fracture patients, the earlier embolization may be desirable to promote improved survival regardless of hemodynamics.