Intraarterial digital subtraction angiography (IA-DSA) was performed in 27 patients of intracranial aneurysms, including 23 cases of ruptured intracranial aneurysms in acute stage, 46 studies with IA-DSA were performed consequently.
Increased spatial resolution of DSA was obtained with intraarterial injection and with high matrix memory. The image quality of aneurysms and their feeders on IA-DSA was either equivalent or excellent, as compared to the conventional carotid or vertebral angiography.
Its high contrast sensitivity enables us to decrease doses and injection speed of contrast medium. Small doses of contrast medium have prevented the patient from burning pain and transient systemic high blood pressure, are inevitable complication of conventional angiography. Also, slow injection reduced the possible raise of local arterial pressure, and accidental flipping out of catheter to the aorta, moreover 4-vessel study by Seldinger's method was easily achieved via the same catheter. The real time display was the valuable tool to make a decision for the angle of X-ray projection.
From above reasons, it was emphasized that IA-DSA is a non-invasive maneuver, and saves the time for angiography, especially harmless for unstable patients of the acute stage of ruptured aneurysms or the state of vasospasm.
