Introduction: Hepatic pseudoaneurysm (HPA) is a rare complication after liver trauma, yet it is potentially fatal, as it\ncan lead to sudden severe haemorrhage. The risk of developing posttraumatic HPA is one of the arguments for\nperforming follow-up CT of patients with liver injuries. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of\nHPA post liver trauma.\nMethods: A retrospective study from 2000-2010 of conservatively treated patients with blunt liver trauma was\nperformed to investigate the incidence and nature of HPA. After the initial CT scan patients were admitted to the\ndepartment and if not clinically indicated prior a follow-up CT was performed on day 4-5.\nResults: A total of 259 non-operatively managed patients with liver injury were reviewed. 188 had a follow-up CT\nor US and in 7 patients a HPA was diagnosed. All aneurysms were treated with angiographic embolization and\nthere were no treatment failures. There was no correlation between the severity of the liver injury and development\nof HPA. 5 out of 7 patients were asymptomatic and would have been discharged without treatment if the protocol\ndid not include a default follow-up CT.\nConclusions: In conclusion, this study shows that HPA is not correlated to the severity of liver injury and it\ndevelops in 4% of patients after traumatic liver injury. In order to avoid potentially life-threatening haemorrhage\nfrom a post trauma hepatic pseudoaneurysm, it seems appropriate to do follow-up CT as part of the conservative\nmanagement of blunt and penetrating liver injuries.
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