Cerebral distribution of contrast medium during slow intracarotid infusion.

A prospective study was performed to evaluate in vivo the uniformity of cerebral distribution of iodinated contrast medium during slow intraarterial injection at rates used for chemotherapy installation in the internal carotid artery. We evaluated seven patients with primary intracranial neoplasms with routine film-screen angiography and with digital angiography during slow infusion. In six internal carotid artery injections the distribution of contrast material was identical during the late arterial phase of routine angiography and the digital study. In three vertebral artery injections the opacification during the slow infusion was inadequate to make meaningful comparison. Our results indicate that solutions infused into the internal carotid artery at rates as low as 0.25 ml/sec are distributed well throughout the carotid territory opacified during the late arterial phase of film-screen angiography.