Internal bleeding (also called internal haemorrhage) is a loss of blood from a blood vessel that collects inside the body, and is not usually visible from the outside. It can be a serious medical emergency but the extent of severity depends on bleeding rate and location of the bleeding (e.g. head, torso, extremities). Severe internal bleeding into the chest, abdomen, pelvis, or thighs can cause hemorrhagic shock or death if proper medical treatment is not received quickly. Internal bleeding is a medical emergency and should be treated immediately by medical professionals.
A patient may lose more than 30% of their blood volume before there are changes in their vital signs or level of consciousness. This is called hemorrhagic or hypovolemic shock, which is a type of shock that occurs when there is not enough blood to reach organs in the body.
Causes
Internal bleeding can be caused by a broad number of things and can be broken up into three large categories:
- Trauma, or direct injury to blood vessels within the body cavity
- Genetic and acquired conditions, along with various medications, that result in an increased bleeding risk
- Other
Traumatic
The most common cause of death in trauma is bleeding. Death from trauma accounts for 1.5 million of the 1.9 million deaths per year due to bleeding.
Non-traumatic
A number of pathological conditions and diseases can lead to internal bleeding. These include:
- Blood vessel rupture as a result of high blood pressure, aneurysms, peptic ulcers, or ectopic pregnancy.
- Other diseases linked to internal bleeding include cancer, hematologic disease, Vitamin K deficiency, and rare viral hemorrhagic fevers, such as the Ebola, Dengue or Marburg viruses.
Other
thumb|233x233px|This stomach with [[Linitis plastica (Brinton's disease) can cause internal bleeding]]
Internal bleeding could be a result of complications following surgery or other medical procedures. Some medications may also increase a person's risk for bleeding, such as anticoagulant drugs or antiplatelet drugs in the treatment of coronary artery disease.
Diagnosis
Vital signs
Blood loss can be estimated based on heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and mental status. Blood is circulated throughout the body and all major organ systems through a closed loop system. When there is damage to the blood vessel or the blood is thinner than the physiologic consistency, blood can exit the vessel which disrupts this close-looped system. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) responds in two large ways as an attempt to compensate for the opening in the system. These two actions are easily monitored by checking the heart rate and blood pressure. Blood pressure will initially decrease due to the loss of blood. This is where the ANS comes in and attempts to compensate by contracting the muscles that surround these vessels. As a result, a person who is bleeding internally may initially have a normal blood pressure. When the blood pressure falls below the normal range, this is called hypotension. The heart will start to pump faster causing the heart rate to increase, as an attempt to get blood delivered to vital organ systems faster. When the heart beats faster than the healthy and normal range, this is called tachycardia. If the bleeding is not controlled or stopped, a patient will experience tachycardia and hypotension, which altogether is a state of shock, called hemorrhagic shock.
Advanced trauma life support (ATLS) by the American College of Surgeons separates hemorrhagic shock into four categories.
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|+Classification of Hemorrhagic Shock For bleeding at junctional sites, a dressing with a blood clotting agent (hemostatic dressing) should be applied.