Failure of Nonoperative Management of Splenic Injuries in Trauma Patients on Anticoagulation.

Although nonoperative management or embolization with preservation of splenic tissue is preferable, there is a significant risk of continued bleeding ultimately requiring splenectomy. It has been established that elderly patients on anticoagulation (AC) have an increased risk of splenic injury, but there are little data to show whether AC plays a role in outcomes of splenic injury in the setting of trauma. This is a retrospective cohort study, including 168 adults aged 50 to 79 years who presented as a trauma patient to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital from January 1, 2010, to March 31, 2018. The primary outcome is the management of the splenic injury. Of the 168 patients, 30 were presently taking AC at the time of their injury, and 138 were not taking any AC. These groups were similar in average Injury Severity Score, average grade of splenic injury, and average systolic blood pressure on arrival. However, the groups differed significantly in age and hemoglobin on arrival. We found that patients taking AC at the time of injury underwent splenectomy 23.3 per cent of the time, whereas patients not taking AC underwent splenectomy 11.6 per cent of the time ( = 0.045). Patients taking AC failed nonoperative management 20 per cent of the time, whereas patients not taking AC failed 0.7 per cent of the time ( < 0.05). We found that patients taking AC at the time of their traumatic injury were more likely to undergo splenectomy than patients not taking AC. We also found that patients taking AC were more likely to fail nonoperative management.