Effects of radial artery cannulation

A prospective study has been carried out in 40 patients of the effects of radial artery cannulation for monitoring purposes. A Doppler flow meter was used to secure objective evidence of the incidence of thrombosis in the cannulated radial artery. Twenty-two of the 41 arteries cannulated were shown to have undergone thrombosis, and the haemodynamic defect associated with the arterial block persisted in all but two until the time of the patient's discharge from hospital. Thirteen of the 20 hands in which a persistent block was demonstrated developed features of mild ischaemia. In four instances, these were transient, and disappeared within a few days. In the remaining nine hands, however, the features persisted to the time of the patient's discharge from hospital at an average of three weeks from the date of cannulation. The mean cannulation time was 45 hours. Radial artery cannulation carries a definite morbidity, and should not be used unless there is no other reasonable way of obtaining vital information for the management of a critically ill patient.