Trauma in Pregnancy

Resuscitation of the Pregnant Trauma patient

General principles

·      Trauma is the most common cause of non-obstetrical maternal death in the United States

·      Best fetal resuscitation is good maternal resuscitation.

·      Stabilization of the pregnant women is the first priority; then, if the fetus is viable (≥ 23 weeks), fetal heart rate auscultation and fetal monitoring can be initiated and an obstetrical consultation obtained as soon as feasible

·      In Rh-negative pregnant trauma patients, quantification of maternal–fetal hemorrhage by tests such as Kleihauer-Betke should be done to determine the need for additional doses of anti-D immunoglobulin.

·      Tetanus vaccination is safe in pregnancy and should be given when indicated.

Airway

·      Greater risk for difficult intubation than non-pregnant patient

·      Pregnancy related changes à decreased functional residual capacity, reduced respiratory system compliance, increased airway resistance, and increased oxygen requirements

·      Gastric emptying is delayed in pregnancy à greater risk for aspiration

·      Respiratory tract mucosal edema à A smaller size of endotracheal tube is recommended

·      Choice of RSI medications NOT affected by pregnancy status

Breathing

·      Place chest tube one to 2 intercostal spaces higher than usual to account for displacement of the diaphragm during pregnancy

·      Marked increases in basal oxygen consumption à lower threshold for supplemental oxygen

Circulation

·      Fluid and Colloid resuscitation like standard trauma protocol

·      Uteroplacental vasculature is highly responsive to vasopressors, and their administration may decrease placental perfusion à vasopressors should be avoided unless refractory

·      Avoid supine hypotension: Compression of IVC by the uterus can cause up to 30% reduction in cardiac output à Place in left lateral position or by manual displacement of the uterus while the injured patient is secured in the supine position

·      O-negative blood should be transfused in order to avoid Rh sensitization in Rh-negative women

·      Vital signs: heart rate increases by 15% during pregnancy. Tachycardia and hypotension, typical of hypovolemic shock, may appear late in the pregnant trauma patient because of her increased blood volume.

·      Maternal vital signs and perfusion may be preserved at the expense of uteroplacental perfusion, delaying the occurrence of signs of hypovolemic shock

·      Attempt to obtain supra-diaphragmatic intravenous or intraosseous access for volume resuscitation and medication administration.

FAST

·      The FAST is less sensitive for free fluid in the pregnant patient than in non-pregnant patients.  Sensitivity decreases with increasing gestational age, likely due to altered fluid flow within the abdomen.

·      Management of suspected placental abruption should not be delayed pending confirmation by ultrasonography as ultrasound is not a sensitive tool for its diagnosis.

Secondary survey

·      In cases of vaginal bleeding at or after 23 weeks, speculum or digital vaginal examination should be deferred until placenta previa is excluded by a prior or current ultrasound scan.

Imaging

·      Radiographic studies indicated for maternal evaluation including abdominal computed tomography should not be deferred or delayed due to concerns regarding fetal exposure to radiation.

·      Ionizing radiation has the highest teratogenic potential during the period of organogenesis (5–10 weeks), with an increased risk of miscarriage before this period.

·      With abdominal CT during the third trimester the fetal exposure is around 3.5 rads, which is still under the threshold for fetal damage

·      Contrast agents should be used if indicated.

Resuscitative Hysterotomy in Cardiac Arrest

·      Should begin within 4 minutes and completed within 5 minutes of cardiac arrest

·      Both maternal and fetal survival decrease significantly after 5 minutes

·      Do NOT delay the procedure for the arrival of an obstetrician or neonatologist.

·      Do NOT evaluate for fetal cardiac activity or tocometry.

·      Do NOT prepare a sterile field (but be as clean as possible).

·      Do NOT transport to an alternative location.

·      Performing RH increases maternal cardiac output by 30%.

References:

Tamingthesru.com

EmDocs

Jain, Venu, et al. "Guidelines for the management of a pregnant trauma patient." Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada 37.6 (2015): 553-571.

Smith, Kurt A., and Suzanne Bryce. "Trauma in the pregnant patient: an evidence-based approach to management." Emergency medicine practice 15.4 (2013): 1-18.

Resuscitative TEE

Important: Please complete the Sexual Harassment Online Module ASAP!

Resuscitative Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE)

• TEE allows the emergency physician to maintain the standard of an ultrasound-informed resuscitation in the scenario of cardiac arrest, where TTE is significantly limited.

• Focused or resuscitative TEE (4 views) differ from comprehensive TEE (>20 views) that cardiology performs in that it is employed to identify specific questions.

• TEE allows for potentially shorter chest compression pauses

• TEE allows for evaluation for the quality of chest compressions

• TEE allows for visualization of fine V-fib not seen on the monitor

Indications: Cardiac arrest (ACEP)

Contraindications: Esophageal injury or stricture and lack of a definitive airway

How to manipulate a TEE Probe:

5 different ways you can physically manipulate the TEE probe

1. Withdraw or Advance up or down patient’s esophagus

2. Turn probe to right or left

3. Turn tip of flip in anterior- ante-flexing or in the posterior direction called retro-flexing --> large wheel

4. Turn tip to Left or right -->  small wheel (not typically used for our purposes)

5. In addition, you can rotate the transducer housed within the probe itself (AKA omniplane or multiplane)-->  adjusts the beam angle anywhere between 0° and 180° -->  two smaller buttons ( crystal rotation)

The views are obtained in the following order: : 

-  The midesophageal 4-chamber view (ME 4C) is obtained by advancing the TEE probe to the thoracic esophagus and orienting the multiplane at 0-20° in neutral flexion. You may need to retroflex slightly to see all four chambers.

-   The midesophageal long-axis view (ME LAX) is obtained by leaving the probe in the same location as the midesophageal 4-chamber, but increasing the multiplane to between 110° and 160° while in neutral flexion. 

-   The transgastric short axis view (TG- SAX) is obtained by first moving the multiplane to 0°, then advancing the probe into the stomach and ante-flexing the probe

-   The bicaval view (ME bicaval) is obtained by turning the entire probe to the patient’s right towards the superior vena cava (SVC) and inferior vena cava (IVC) while in the mid-esophagus, keeping the multiplane at 90-100° with neutral flexion

 ( The first 3 views are recommended by ACEP. Bicaval not recommended by ACEP) 

TEE views and their analogous TTE views



Midesophageal four chamber view (ME 4C)

-  Apical four chamber view

-  Great visualization of all chambers as well as the tricuspid and mitral valves in one plane.

-   Evaluation of right and left ventricular systolic function and size

-   Preferred view to evaluate for the presence or absence of a perfusing rhythm during a pulse check.

Midesophageal Aortic Long Axis view (ME LAX)

-  Midesophageal analogous to the parasternal long axis view in TTE

-   View includes the mitral and aortic valves, as well as the left atrium, left ventricle, and left ventricular outflow tract of the right ventricle.

-   Evaluate left ventricular systolic function, and provides feedback on compression adequacy and location. High-quality compressions cause maximal compression of the left ventricle and visualization of the aortic valve opening and closing indicating forward flow of blood.  Poor quality compressions are seen over the aortic root and there is no valvular indication of forward flow. 

Transgastric Short Axis view (TG- SAX)

- Analogous to the parasternal short axis TTE view

- Evaluate left ventricular systolic function, including any regional wall motion abnormalities

- Can evaluate for acute MI and the presence of septal flattening in this view

Mid Esophageal Bicaval View (ME bicaval)

-   Analogous to the inferior vena cava view of TTE

-   Transducer plane cuts through the left atrium (LA), right atrium (RA), IVC and SVC.

This view allows the operator to evaluate for hypovolemia, atrial size, and interatrial septum bowing.

-   Aids in the placement of central venous catheters, transvenous pacemakers, or extracorporeal life support (ECMO) vascular cannulas by observing the initial wire placement in the vasculature

- Can aid inevaluation of fluid status to guide fluid resuscitation (looking at respiratory variation in SVC)

Pitfalls

-  Compressions do not need to be stopped for TEE insertion. Additionally, the TEE can be left in the esophagus during defibrillation. The probe should be inserted or withdrawn while the tip is in neutral position, and not while the tip is flexed to avoid esophageal injury. 

-  Images should be optimized to avoid foreshortening of the ventricles and to include the appropriate structures for each view.

-  Pericardial effusions must be taken into clinical context, as small effusions can cause tamponade if accumulated rapidly, while large effusions can be well tolerated if they accumulate slowly.

-   Clotted hemopericardium may be isoechoic with the myocardium, making it difficult to identify.

-  Right ventricular failure is not specific to pulmonary embolism, and can be due to pulmonary hypertension or other etiologies such as right sided myocardial infarction, or even cardiac arrest itself.

-  Pleural effusions can be mistaken for pericardial effusions. Multiple views should be used to corroborate findings.

-  Fat pads can be mistaken for pericardial effusions, but these are hypoechoic rather than anechoic and limited to the anterior and apical regions of the heart, not circumferential.

 Resource: 

Check out this 3D module that you can practice on 

https://pie.med.utoronto.ca/TEE/TEE_content/TEE_standardViews_intro.html

References:

Drs Lawrence Haines, Judy Lin and Alyssa Phuoc-Ngyuyen

Images: Adapted from Arntfield R, Pace J, McLeod S, et al. Focused transesophageal echocardiography for emergency physicians-description and results from simulation training of a structured four-view examination. Crit Ultrasound J. 2015;7(1):27.

Teran, Felipe, et al. "Evaluation of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest using transesophageal echocardiography in the emergency department." Resuscitation 137 (2019): 140-147.

EmDocs

ACEP policy statement

https://www.acep.org/patient-care/policy-statements/guidelines-for-the-use-of-transesophageal-echocardiography-tee-in-the-ed-for-cardiac-arrest/

POTD: Superficial Thrombophlebitis (feat. Dr. Doge Pologe)

Today's POTD is inspired by resident extraordinaire Dr. Doge Pologe. As usual, TL;DR is below the main text. 

Thrombophlebitis is essentially a composite of two diagnoses: phlebitis, which is a clinical diagnosis in the setting of an erythema and pain overlying a vein and an identified thrombus. In the lower extremities, this is most likely to occur in varicose veins. 

In general, risk factors for thrombophlebitis are the same as for DVT (think Virchow's Triad of hypercoagulability, hemodynamic changes (stasis/turbulence), and endothelial injury/dysfunction). These include pregnancy, history of vein excision/ablation, history of prior thrombosis, malignancy, and prior IV catheter placement. 

Special cases:

• "Mondor": thrombophlebitis of a breast vein, anterior chest vein, or of the dorsal penile vein. The two former should prompt a search for breast cancer and the later is usually due to repetitive trauma

• "Trousseau's sign of malignancy": migratory thromboembolism, has a strong association with adenocarcinoma of the pancreas and lung

Diagnosis:
Diagnosis of phlebitis is clinical. Ultrasound should be used to identify a thrombus to distinguish between phlebitis and thrombophlebitis. Patients should also have duplex ultrasound to identify a DVT especially if the area of concern is above the knee. This is important because the rate of concurrent DVT in all cases is 25% and the rate of concurrent PE is 5%. 

Thrombophlebitis on ultrasound will demonstrate heterogeneous internal echoes within a superficial vein. Unlike an abscess or a lymph node, this will not be discrete and you should be able to trace it out. in the words of the Doge:

"it looks like a weird continuous twisty spaghetti
abscess thing; 
but it's not to be feared, 
mostly superfluous, so get frisky and ultrasound that biddy, 
color doppler, diagnosis, ka-ching". 

There may be flow present (which can help distinguish an abscess from thrombophlebitis; abscess = no flow). Some examples (by the Doge Pologe and myself):

Treatment:
As with treatment of below the knee VTE, the treatment of superficial thrombophlebitis is controversial. Patients can be considered low risk (for VTE) if they meet these criteria:

• Affected vein segment < 5cm

• Remote from the saphenofemoral/saphenopopliteal junction

• Low risk for VTE

**Repeat duplex should be obtained in 7-10 days or for worsening symptoms to check for propagation!

NB: thrombophlebitis post-ablation are always low risk and do not require treatment

For these uncomplicated cases, treatment is aimed at alleviating symptoms and prevention of propagation. This includes the following:

• NSAIDs

• Warm/cool compresses

• Elevation of the extremity

• Compression stockings

Patients that do not qualify as low risk or if they have recurrent thromboembolism should be considered for anticoagulation. Although studies looking at anticoagulation for SVT are small and flawed, NSAIDs, LMWH, and fondaparinux have all been shown to decrease incidence of DVT. Patients can also be discharged on Xarelto (this is the only NOAC to be studied for this indication). 

In addition, thromboembolism can become suppurative. Signs and symptoms include high fever (as opposed to the low-grade fever that accompany simple thrombophlebitis) and purulent drainage (duh). In these cases, consider antibiotics. 

TL;DR

• Thrombophlebitis = phlebitis (redness/pain along vein) + thrombus

• Find the thrombus on ultrasound! Look for internal echoes.

• Low risk patients = below the knee, affected vein < 5cm, distance remove from saphenofemoral/saphenopopliteal junction can be managed with NSAIDs, compression stockings, warm/cool compresses, elevation

• Low risk patients should get repeat study in 7-10 days to check for propagation

• High risk patients: consider anticoagulation with LWMH, fondaparinux, or Xarelto

• Antibiotics for suppurative thrombophlebitis

Special thanks to Dr. Jonas Pologe, Dr. Lawrence Haines, and Dr. Leily Naraghi Bagher Pour. 

Sources:
http://www.emdocs.net/core-em-superficial-venous-thrombosis-svt/
https://www.bmj.com/rapid-response/2011/10/31/superficial-thrombophlebitis-not-straightforward-we-may-think
https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/463256-overview
https://www.uptodate.com/contents/phlebitis-and-thrombosis-of-the-superficial-lower-extremity-veins
https://radiopaedia.org/cases/superficial-thrombophlebitis-1?lang=us