Objective: To determine whether a compression procedure guided by the patient's mean arterial pressure value (experimental) is safe and effective and superior to a compression procedure using 15 cubic centimeters of air in the device (standard) in patients undergoing radial artery catheterization.
Methods: We performed a randomized, single-center study, which included patients undergoing catheterization of the radial artery for diagnosis or percutaneous coronary intervention, in whom the sheath was removed at the end of procedure and the radial artery was compressed for 3 h with a pneumatic device (TR Band Terumo). The arteries were evaluated between 24 and 72 h after the procedure, using a plethysmography curve with a reverse flow test followed by bidirectional Doppler.
Results: The percentage of arterial occlusion was measured in 351 patients. Arterial occlusion was found in two patients (1.1%) in the experimental group compared with 21 patients (12%) in the standard group (p = 0.0001). No differences were found in the number of complications.
Conclusions: The compression method, guided by the patient's mean arterial pressure value at the end of catheterization of the radial artery, is safe and effective and reduces arterial occlusion compared with the standard compression method using a pneumatic device.