Application of the 64-slice computed tomography as a diagnostic method in acute posttraumatic ischaemia of the upper limbs - 3 case reports

Background: Acute limb ischaemia' is a sudden, rapidly progressing inhibition of blood supply to a limb, characterised by appearance of new symptoms or by aggravation of the already existing ones, which may lead to amputation of the limb. Computed tomography angiography (CTA) performed with a multislice scanner belongs to methods used for arterial imaging in acute limb ischaemia. The main advantages of this method include: short examination time, low invasiveness, and possibility of a multiplanar and multivolume imaging of the vessels and adjacent tissues.

Case reports: We presented 3 cases of acute posttraumatic ischaemia of the upper limbs, diagnosed in the emergency setting with the use of a 64-slice CT scanner.

Conclusions: The CTA examination performed with the 64-slice CT unit revealed high effectiveness when used for localisation of vascular pathologies resulting in acute ischaemia of the upper limbs. Owing to this rapid radiological diagnostic method, it is now possible to perform successful limb-saving surgeries and to introduce postoperative monitoring immediately after the procedure.