Acute mesenteric ischaemia: imaging and intervention.

Acute mesenteric ischaemia (AMI) is an abdominal emergency in which an acute reduction in mesenteric arterial supply threatens bowel viability and may result in bowel infarction, perforation, and death. Despite improvements in diagnosis and treatment over recent decades, mortality rates in AMI remain very high. This article discusses the aetiological classification, pathophysiology, and clinical aspects of AMI. The specific imaging characteristics of each aetiological type of AMI are detailed and the role of different imaging methods in the diagnosis of AMI is discussed. Surgery is the established treatment of choice for AMI, but there is increasing use of endovascular techniques in treating AMI in cases where there are no clinical features of peritonism or radiological evidence of irreversible ischaemia. This article reviews the evidence for different diagnostic and management strategies for patients with AMI and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of surgical and endovascular treatments. Endovascular techniques have been reported to have high technical success rates and favourable outcomes when compared to open surgery; however, patient selection bias and a paucity of data limit the conclusions that can be drawn.

Transcatheter pelvic arterial embolisation for control of obstetric and gynaecological haemorrhage.

We present a 5-year experience of pelvic arterial embolisation at two centres in the UK, and emphasise the role of interventional radiology in the treatment of obstetric and gynaecological haemorrhage. A total of 31 women underwent pelvic embolization:19 patients had complete medical records, and of these, two women had antepartum haemorrhage, 12 women had primary postpartum haemorrhage (PPH), four women had secondary PPH and one woman had a haemorrhage following termination of pregnancy (TOP). The source of the haemorrhage was only identified in four women (21.1%). All patients underwent selective embolisation of the uterine artery or anterior divisional branch of the internal iliac artery with successful haemorrhage control in 17 patients (89.4%) and no immediate complications. Haemorrhage continued despite embolisation in two patients; both proceeded to surgery. Selective pelvic embolisation is a safe and effective treatment for acute obstetric or gynaecological haemorrhage and should be part of the management algorithm for PPH.

Arterial closure devices. A review.

The use of arterial closure devices in achieving haemostasis following arterial puncture has become increasingly popular. This review aims to provide an overview of the currently available closure devices, with an up-to-date summary of the supporting literature. The various devices have their advantages and disadvantages as well as differing mechanisms of actions. Technical aspects of deployment affect the learning curve and ease of use of individual devices. Some complications that arise are device specific where others are related to arterial punctures in general. When choosing a device, all these factors should be taken into account as well as differing clinical requirements and priorities. Most studies of arterial closure devices that are currently in use conclude that the safety profile of closure devices is comparable to manual compression. The literature does not show superiority of any particular device. Caution is advised in extrapolating evidence based on differing patient groups, as many of the study populations are heterogeneous. As physicians become more familiar with the use of closure devices, off-label applications of some devices have emerged, some of which need further evaluation. The ideal closure device should reduce complication rates compared to manual compression, be easy to use with a short learning curve, and have a high rate of deployment success. It should also be usable across a wide range of sheath sizes, not leave any permanent foreign body behind, reduce time to haemostasis and ambulation, allow immediate repuncture, improve patient comfort and be cost effective. In spite of the wide range of devices currently available there remains room for improvement.