CEREBRAL ARTERIOGRAPHY-DIAGNOSTIC VALUE IN CEREBROVASCULAR DISEASE

The value of the diagnostic information obtainable by cerebral arteriography in the past has been offset by the danger of complications. The procedure has now been made simpler and safer by the use of a 60% solution of sodium and methylglucamine diatrizoate as the contrast medium, 10 ml. being injected into the common carotid artery under local anesthesia. Roentgenograms of the cranium are made at one-second intervals for eight seconds after the injection. This procedure was carried out 80 times in 56 patients. Eight case-histories illustrate the importance of the data so obtained in discovering the cause and deciding on the treatment of obscure symptoms. The most impressive results were in patients with arteriovenous malformations. Undesired side-effects, ranging from transient paresis of one arm to transient hemiparesis lasting up to two days, occurred in 7 of the first 28 patients. No significant reactions occurred in the last 52 cases. The safety and simplicity of percutaneous cerebral arteriography performed under local anesthesia, as illustrated in this study, suggest a wider usefulness of this diagnostic method in the clarification of clinical problems involving cerebrovascular lesions.