Carboxyangiography: a new type of opacification in angiographic practice--first clinical experience

The study was undertaken to investigate a possibility of clinical application of medical-purpose CO2 as an alternative radiopaque agent (RA) for visualization of major arteries and veins. During the period from April 2009 to June 2010, a total of fifty 38-to-72-year-old patients (mean age 58 years) underwent angiographic examinations wherein medical-purpose CO2 was employed as a radiopaque agent. We performed 39 aorto-arteriographies, 10 portographies, and one mesentericography. Medical carbon dioxide used for vascular opacification makes it possible to obtain high-quality images of the vascular bed and is sometimes even superior to water-soluble RAs.