The recognition of blunt vascular injury has increased in recent years due to an improved understanding of blunt mechanical forces, mechanisms of injury, and awareness that such injuries are often occult. This has been aided by improved quality and expanded availability of noninvasive studies. As a result, outcomes following blunt vascular injury have improved.
Compared to penetrating vascular injury and other vascular disease processes, blunt vascular injury has unique features that make it useful to consider as a distinct clinical entity. Manifestations of blunt vascular injury may develop in a delayed fashion and present with more subtle findings, such as a pulse deficit or diminished ankle-brachial pressure index. The objective of this review is to present a brief historical perspective on blunt vascular injury as well as an appraisal of current diagnostic and treatment strategies. Blunt vascular injury will be discussed in distinct anatomic regions, including cervical and upper and lower extremity and evidence-based management strategies developed.
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