[Complications of retrograde arterial catheterizations in infants and children (author's transl)].

550 retrograde arterial catheterizations, performed between 1974 and 1980, including 50 infants below the age of one year, 120 children between one and 5 years of age and 380 schoolchildren, were reviewed with respect to the rate of complications. Within this period the portion of open arteriotomies decreased from 41% during 1974-1977 to 7% during 1978-1980. Only 130 patients had systemic heparinization during the catheterization procedure, without preponderance of any age group. Complications occurred in 10% of the patients, 4% being major complications necessitating mostly thrombectomia or thrombolysis. The rate of major complications decreased from 6% during the first period (1974-77) to 3% during the second period (1979-80), which can partly be attributed to the decrease of open arteriotomies within the entire period. According to our results the open arteriotomy of the A. femoralis should be avoided as far as possible. The rate of arterial obstructions was highest in infancy, where it amounted to 14%, and did not change considerably between the first and second period of time in this age group. In schoolchildren, however, the rate of arterial obstruction diminished from 7% during the first period to 0.5% during the second period. Considering the entire period, systemic heparinization did not appear to influence significant the rate of complications. During the last 3 years, however, arterial obstruction was observed in none of 74 patients having undergone systemic heparinization, but in 8 of 228 patients without this measure, 7 of them being infants and children below the age of 6 years. We therefore conclude that systemic heparinization should be performed in infants and small children during retrograde catheterization.