CT angiography is as accurate as conventional angiography as well as faster and less expensive.
These authors prospectively compared computed tomography angiography (CTA) and conventional angiography (CA) for evaluation of potential extremity vascular injuries in patients aged 18 to 50 at a single U.S. trauma center during 2006–2007. Patients with hard signs of vascular injury (arterial bleeding, absent distal pulses, limb ischemia, expanding or pulsatile hematoma, bruit or thrill over injured area, or hemorrhagic shock without other injury) and those with known contrast dye reactions were excluded. Patients with ankle-brachial index (ABI) <0.90 underwent 16- or 64-slice CTA with three-dimensional volumetric reconstructions of the images, followed by CA, unless CTA and clinical evaluation dictated immediate surgery.
Twenty-one patients…