Initial Experience Using a 3 French Pigtail Catheter for Aortography

Abstract

We report our experience using a 3 French pigtail catheter (CX catheter-AII; Cathex; Kanagawa, Japan) for aortography. The 3 French pigtail catheter is made of nylon, and the distal portion forms a loop, 8mm in diameter, in which 12 holes are spirally punctured. The inner and outer diameters are 0.87mm and 1.17mm, respectively, while the length of the catheter can be either 70cm or 110cm. The catheter has a lumen of 0.87mm, and accepts a 0.032inch guidewire. The maximum injection pressure allowed is less than 1200 psi. The maximum injection rate is 16ml/s in the 70cm catheter and 12ml/s in the 110cm catheter. The image quality obtained with the 3 F pigtail catheter was sufficient to diagnose and complete procedures during various kinds of examinations. After angiographic procedures, the brachial or femoral artery was manually compressed for 5 minutes, and the patient was confined to bed rest with compression by a plaster cast or a cross bandage for 120 min, with no complications noted at the puncture site. The 3 F pigtail catheter is feasible and useful for aortography.