Rapid triple-compartment wrist arthrography with diluted contrast medium.

Triple-compartment wrist arthrography is currently considered the optimal technique for evaluating carpal instability, because injection of contrast agent into the radiocarpal joint alone can fail to reveal ligamentous disruption due to a ball-valve tear. Unfortunately, triple-compartment arthrography can be time consuming for both the patient and the radiologist. This report describes a technique for rapid triple-compartment wrist arthrography with standard (as opposed to digital subtraction) fluoroscopy. This technique reduces the time necessary to perform the study to 30 to 45 minutes without sacrificing diagnostic accuracy.