Duplex scanning to assess radial artery suitability for coronary artery bypass grafting.
OBJECTIVE
Radial artery suitability in coronary artery bypass grafting was assessed using duplex ultrasonography.


METHODS
The vascular condition along the entire radial artery was scanned in 55 patients, measuring the internal diameter and mean flow velocity at the wrist (distally), after ulnar artery branching (proximally), and midway between these 2 points (medially). Distally along the radial and ulnar arteries, the mean flow velocity was determined before and after radial artery occlusion.


RESULTS
Atherosclerotic changes were detected in 4 patients. The internal diameter was 3.1 +/- 0.4 mm proximally, 2.7 +/- 0.3 mm medially, 2.4 +/- 0.4 mm distally. The distal flow velocity was 0, and a reverse flow (peak velocity: 11.3 +/- 6.0 cm/s) was observed after the occlusion test in patients with an intact palmar arch, their mean flow velocity, 21.1 +/- 8.9 cm/s, and flow distally along the ulnar artery 58.0 +/- 23.4 ml/min, were higher after the occlusion test than before it 14.7 +/- 6.7 cm/s mean flow and 38.1 +/- 15.9 ml/min distally. This was not observed in patients with an interrupted palmar arch. In 15 patients, radial arteries could not be used because of their small internal diameter, lack of a radial artery, poor vascular condition, or an interrupted palmar arch evaluated using duplex scanning.


CONCLUSIONS
Reliable noninvasive assessment of radial artery anatomy and palmar arch continuity is thus possible using duplex ultrasonography.
Hosono
M
M
Second Department of Surgery, Osaka City University Medical School, Japan.
Suehiro
S
S
Shibata
T
T
Sasaki
Y
Y
Kumano
H
H
Kinoshita
H
H
D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017534:Radial Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000637:transplantation*; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D018616:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Duplex