[Comparative results in the carotid region. Venous or arterial digital angiography?]

A comparative evaluation between Digital Venous (DV) and Arterial (DA) studies of carotid arteries has been carried out in our institution in the last two years. DV study, in our experience, only in fourty percent of the cases shows good details (i.e. of true diagnostic value); this rate decreases to fifteen-twenty of intracranial sector, while DA offers optimal results in eighty percent and more of the patients. DV studies, highly invasive on a pharmacological point of view, based on the contrast medium amount, must be reserved only to surgical follow-up studies and patients with femoral/brachial bilateral occlusion, that involves technical impossibility for arterial catheterization.