Complications of diagnostic arteriography performed by a vascular surgeon in a recent series of 558 patients.

This article analyzes the complication rates of diagnostic arteriographies performed by a single vascular surgeon and compares them to those previously published by interventional radiologists. Five hundred fifty-eight consecutive patients who underwent diagnostic arteriographies were analyzed. A modification of one study's criteria was used to compile perioperative complications. The technical success rate was 99%. These included 345 aortoiliofemoral arteriograms with runoff, 64 aortoiliofemoral arteriograms for abdominal aortic aneurysms, 83 aortoiliofemoral arteriograms with contralateral selective iliacs, 35 aortoiliofemoral arteriograms with carotids, and 27 aortoiliofemoral arteriograms with selective visceral/renal. Femoral artery puncture was used in 93%, and left brachial artery in 7%. The mean amount of contrast was 97 cc and the mean operative time was 25 minutes. The overall complication rate was 3.8% (1.3% major), which was comparable to what was published previously (1.9% and 2.9%) but superior to what we published previously as performed by our radiologists (7%, p <.001). A logistic regression could not find any variables that were significant for the prediction of a major complication. However, increased age, a longer operating time (>or= 30 minutes), and smoking were associated with an increase in overall complications. It was determined that diagnostic arteriography can be done safely by experienced vascular surgeons with low complication rates that compare favorably with what was published by interventional radiologists.