Emergency room arteriography: a useful technique in the assessment of peripheral vascular injuries.

Emergency room arteriography is a useful aid in the assessment of limbs for possible vascular injury. It can be performed quickly by junior staff in the emergency room, using simple equipment, thereby avoiding the delays commonly associated with formal radiology suite arteriography. It can also be performed in units which lack formal arteriographic facilities, and resuscitation procedures need not be interrupted while this procedure is being performed. The resulting pictures are adequate for immediate diagnosis of vascular lesions and are of great value to the trauma surgeon. This pilot study of 50 cases confirms that emergency room arteriography is a safe and effective means of diagnosis in the resuscitation area and that the films are as useful as formal angiography for immediate diagnosis of vascular lesions of a traumatic nature.