Color Doppler ultrasound imaging in iatrogenic arterial injuries

Pulsatile masses following arterial puncture for diagnostic or therapeutic procedures may represent false aneurysms or noncommunicating periarterial hematomas with transmitted arterial pulsation. Color Doppler ultrasound imaging was used in 27 patients with pulsatile groin masses. Of these 27 patients, 23 were diagnosed as having pseudoaneurysms and 5 as having periarterial hematomas. The pseudoaneurysms were confirmed at surgical exploration, and the periarterial hematomas were all observed longitudinally with spontaneous resolution. With a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 100% in this clinical study, color Doppler ultrasound imaging appears to be the diagnostic modality of choice for detecting false aneurysms following transarterial procedures, obviating the need for additional invasive diagnostic procedures.