Arteriography with portable DSA equipment

Fifty-one arteriograms were obtained outside of the radiology department with portable digital subtraction angiographic equipment. Thirty-five studies were performed in the emergency room, 12 in the operating room, and four in the intensive care unit. There was a significant decrease in the time interval from arrival in the emergency room to arteriogram completion for examinations performed in the emergency room with portable equipment, compared with those performed in the radiology department. One of the 51 examinations yielded questionable results and was repeated with the conventional screen-film technique. Accurate angiographic diagnoses can be obtained by means of portable equipment in a variety of hospital locations.