Brachial artery catheterization employing a side arm sheath

✍ Scribed by Folland, Edward D. ;Kemper, Andrew ;Bloomfield, Peter ;Parisi, Alfred F.

• Book ID: 102790788
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1984
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 813 KB
• Volume: 10
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0098-6569
• DOI: 10.1002/ccd.1810100112

✦ Synopsis

A major complication of left heart catheterization via the brachial artery is occlusion at the cutdown site. This is particularly a problem when patients with severe atherosclerosis are catheterized in laboratories where the brachial approach is not routinely used. A method of brachial artery catheterization is described which employs a continuously flushed side arm sheath in order to minimize local trauma to the artery from catheter exchange and manipulation. In 15 consecutive atherosclerotic patients catheterized by this method there were no complications, and all arteriotomies were closed easily with immediate restoration of a good radial pulse. This contrasts with the preceding 33 consecutive brachial catherizations employing standard technique in similar patients in whom four patients required surgical repair, and an additional six patients required more than one closure attempt andlor catheter thrombectomy to restore a good pulse. In our laboratory the brachial sheath technique has facilitated arterial repair and reduced local complications.