Arteriovenous fistula as a complication of transradial coronary angiography: a case report

INTRODUCTION: Iatrogenic arteriovenous fistula is a vascular condition that may result from coronary angiography. Many case reports have described arteriovenous fistula occurrence after coronary angiography using the transfemoral access route, but rarely as a complication of using the transradial approach. We report a rare case of a patient with arteriovenous fistula following transradial artery coronary angiography. CASE PRESENTATION: A 62-year-old Caucasian man underwent emergent coronary angiography using the right radial artery approach. One month after angiography, he discovered a turbulent sound near the access site. A right radial arteriovenous fistula was found upon duplex ultrasound investigation. The patient was treated conservatively. At 1-year follow-up, the arteriovenous fistula was unchanged and the patient remained hemodynamically stable and asymptomatic. CONCLUSION: Iatrogenic arteriovenous fistula is a rare vascular complication of transradial artery coronary angiography. The natural history of arteriovenous fistula is benign and is thought to resolve spontaneously; therefore, a conservative approach, as opposed to surgical ligation, is recommended as the first-line treatment.