Carbon dioxide arteriography as a supplementary study in the detection of acute massive gastrointestinal bleeding
Abstract
To compare the diagnostic efficiency of carbon dioxide (CO2) and an iodinated contrast medium (ICM) for detection of arterial haemorrhage. Over a 24-month period, 23 patients were referred 26-times for angiography to detect arterial gastrointestinal haemorrhage.
The CO2 arteriography was performed only when standard ICM arteriography was undetermined or negative. The CO2 arteriograms were performed using hand injections.
Digital subtraction angiography with filming at 3 images per second and single frame mask without stacking of images was used in all cases. There were 3 (11.5 %) additional positive studies among 18 (69.2 %) negative ICM angiograms when CO2 was used as a contrast medium.
Conclusion: CO2 arteriography can detect arterial extravasation when findings of routine angiography are dubious or negative. The CO2 angiograms could not detect detailed vascular anatomy.