Carbon Dioxide Angiography

Excerpt

Room air was used as a radiographic contrast (Rotenberg 1914) prior to the use of carbon dioxide (CO2) (Rosenstein 1921). The first intravascular contrast to be used in humans in 1924 was a liquid (Brooks 1924). Decades later, CO2 was studied in the arteries and veins of human patients, first via needle injection (Barrera 1956) and then via catheter delivery.

With the development of digital subtraction angiography (DSA) and FDA-approved CO2 delivery systems, CO2 angiography has became a useful alternative to more commonly used iodinated contrast, particularly in situations where the patient is hypersensitive to iodinated contrast or has compromised renal function.

CO2 angiography does have limitations and risks that must be understood prior to its use by novice angiographers.