Feasibility and safety of distal transradial access for angiography
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Observational study of hand function after distal transradial access for angiography
IRAS ID
245250
Contact name
Thomas/J Ford
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Golden Jubilee Foundation
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Invasive coronary angiography is the standard tool to diagnose and treat blockages in the heart arteries. In the UK, it is performed through the artery at the wrist (radial artery). This has advantages because it is easily compressed after the procedure to stop bleeding. Unfortunately, around 1 in 25 radial procedures is complicated by a silent occlusion (blockage) of the radial artery at the wrist following the procedure. This is usually silent without symptoms for the patient due to the multiple sources of blood supply to the hand.
Occluded radial arteries are important in the longer term. After occluding, they cannot be used for repeat angiograms, stents or bypass artery operations. Puncturing the same artery a little bit further away from the traditional site on the back of the wrist may reduce the risk of radial artery occlusion. The largest publication of this technique reported no occlusions of the radial artery at the wrist out of 656 patients. Early safety data was provided with less than 1% risk of complications (superior to the traditional approach). One other potential benefit is increased comfort to the patient and operator because the hand is positioned in a more natural way. We plan to study this new technique with larger numbers of patients to look at hand function and sensation afterwards to formally assess safety.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 3
REC reference
18/WS/0182
Date of REC Opinion
12 Dec 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion