Arteriography of Stroke: III. Complications *

ARTERIOGRAPHY is now generally accepted for the management of patients with occlusive cerebrovascular disease. Controversy still exists, however, concerning the complications which sometimes follow the procedure, and the reported incidences vary widely. Conflicting opinions have been published about the morbidity of angiography and whether it is greater in patients with cerebrovascular disease than in patients with other cerebral lesions. Several investigators have indicated fewer complications with the newer (eg, brachial) angiographic techniques, but these complications have rarely been presented in detail, nor has their nature been contrasted with those following older (eg, carotid) methods. Lastly, the pathogenesis of complications is still in dispute. The purposes of this communication are to report the complications of 398 consecutive arteriograms made in 262 patients with a clinical diagnosis of occlusive cerebrovascular disease; to present the complication rates for the different angiographic techniques employed; to discuss some of the factors possibly related to morbidity;