Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare ultrasound-guided access of the superficial femoral artery and the common femoral artery.
Material and methods: 100 patients were randomized to ultrasound-guided access either into the SFA or the CFA. The two groups were compared with respect to technical success, access time and complications. In addition, a subgroup analysis was performed to compare the complication rate using manual compression versus closure devices for haemostasis.
Results: In the SFA group 49/50 patients were successfully accessed in the assigned location, compared to 41/50 in the CFA group (p = 0.016). The median access time was significantly faster in the SFA group (3 min 25 s) compared to the CFA group (5 min 26 s) (p < 0.001). The most frequent complications in the SFA group were pseudoaneurysms (16.3%) whereas access site haematomas (14.6%) were the most common complication in the CFA group. However, when looking at subgroup with closure devices there was no difference between the SFA group compared to CFA group (p = 1.000).
Conclusion: Accessing the SFA was more often successful and significantly faster than puncturing the CFA. The pseudoaneurysm rate was higher in the SFA group when using manual compression, but similar when using closure devices.