Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta : Physiology and clinical aspects of an emerging technique

Traumatic hemorrhagic shock is a major cause of death worldwide. Patients enter the fatal triad of hypothermia, acidosis and coagulopathy and die quickly due to cardiovascular collapse. Ideally, procedures should be performed at the injury scene to prevent this fatal event. Unfortunately, intervention cannot be performed as soon as is needed and time to intervention becomes the enemy of survival. Hemorrhage control until definitive repair can possibly save lives. Hemorrhage from the extremities can be controlled by external pressure but severe hemorrhage from thoracic, abdominal or pelvic cavities, called non-compressible torso hemorrhage, requires internal hemorrhage control. Resuscitative Endovascular Balloon Occlusion of the Aorta (REBOA) uses an endovascular balloon that is inserted into the aorta using minimally invasive methods and is inflated to increase perfusion pressure and avoid cardiovascular collapse, providing a bridge to intervention. REBOA is hypothetised to increase central blood pressure but cause ischemia reperfusion injury below the occlusion level. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the general impact of REBOA on physiology, metabolism, inflammatory response in normovolemia and hemorrhage. Investigation was conducted through clinical and experimental models. Study I was a multicentre cohort study of patients with traumatic hemorrhagic shock who received REBOA. Ninety-six patients were included, with an overall mortality of 56% and with no major complications from REBOA use. REBOA was used in a continuous and non-continuous fashion depending on the patients’ level of hypovolemia. Study II and the following three studies were animal experimental studies. Study II was a randomized control study in pigs to evaluate physiological, metabolic, inflammatory and end-organ function in a normovolemic state. It was demonstrated that REBOA increased central blood pressure but caused ischemic insult. Study III, a randomised controlled experimental