Gangrene of the hand: a complication of radial artery cannulation.

Radial artery cannulation for constant monitoring of arterial pressure and blood gases has become commonplace in the care of the seriously ill. The radial artery is readily accessible and is often regarded as carrying a negligible complication risk, because there is extensive collateral arterial flow in the hand. To the rarely reported cases of gangrene of the hand secondary to cannulation of the radial artery, this publication adds two, both survivors. One, a 46-year-old female with a clinical picture suggestive of mild Raynaud's disease, was treated by closed mitral commissurotomy; the second, a 44-year-old female, was treated for drug overdose complicated by cardiac arrest and renal shutdown.