Selective intra-arterial digital subtraction angiography (IADSA) in cerebrovascular disease

Selective right transbrachial intra-arterial digital subtraction angiography (transbrachial selective IADSA) was successfully performed for 24 of 26 patients with known or suspected cerebrovascular disease, four of whom were outpatients. Catheterization failed in two elderly hypertensive men because of tortuosity of their brachial arteries, and in one woman whose aberrant right subclavian artery (SCA) prevented bilateral common carotid arterial (CCA) catheterizations. No complications occurred. One-hundred and ten ''excellent'' images were obtained by means of 118 injections for the 24 patients. Iopamidol, the contrast medium, was diluted to 50 % concentration with saline, then warmed to 37 deg C. Nearly all the injections of both CCAs and right vertebral arteries (VAs) were completed using 10 ml injections and a 5 ml/sec flow rate. The mean examination time for the three-vessel study was 29.4 minutes. Transbrachial selective IADSA thus proved to be a safe, useful, and relatively easy means of diagnosing cerebrovascular disease. (author)