Bronchial artery embolization: monitoring with somatosensory evoked potentials. Work in progress

Radiology. 1987 Jul;164(1):135-9. doi: 10.1148/radiology.164.1.3295987.

Abstract

Surgery remains the treatment of choice for massive and recurrent hemoptysis. In some instances, however, immediate surgical intervention is contraindicated. In these situations, bronchial artery embolization (BAE) has proved to be a successful definitive treatment for non-surgical candidates and a palliative therapy in patients requiring hemodynamic stabilization prior to surgery. The most serious complication of BAE is spinal cord ischemia. This relates directly to the potential anastomotic connections between the bronchial circulation and the anterior spinal artery. Somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) have been used in the past to monitor spinal cord ischemia during procedures that threaten the vascularity of the spinal cord. The authors report two cases in which SSEPs were employed to monitor spinal cord ischemia during bronchial artery embolization.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Bronchial Arteries* / diagnostic imaging
  • Bronchoscopy
  • Embolization, Therapeutic / adverse effects
  • Embolization, Therapeutic / methods*
  • Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory*
  • Hemoptysis / diagnosis
  • Hemoptysis / therapy
  • Humans
  • Ischemia / diagnosis
  • Ischemia / etiology
  • Male
  • Monitoring, Physiologic / methods*
  • Radiography
  • Spinal Cord / blood supply
  • Subtraction Technique