The application of i.v. digital subtraction angiography to cranial disease in children.

All intracranial IV digital subtraction angiographic examinations performed over the past 2 years were reviewed retrospectively to ascertain the uses and limitations of this technique for the evaluation of pediatric intracranial disease. Of the various abnormalities studied, this imaging technique was particularly useful in diagnosing venous and dural sinus abnormalities; in screening for suspected large aneurysms, vascular malformations, and major arterial occlusive disease; and in preoperative vascular mapping. IV digital subtraction angiography has selected usefulness in confirming brain death, in evaluating cerebral ischemia, in identifying vascular abnormalities underlying intracranial hemorrhage, and in evaluating vascularity and sinus extension of masses. The IV route for digital subtraction angiography is not useful in diagnosing segmental arterial occlusive or small-vessel disease, nor is it useful in preoperative localization of specific arterial supply to arterial venous malformations, aneurysms, or neoplasms. IV digital subtraction angiography can be performed successfully in children of all ages with minimal patient morbidity. For most patients, the diagnostic information obtained was adequate without the need for standard cerebral arteriography.