MRA imaging of arterial patency in undialyzed uremic patients with arteriosclerosis obliterans.

Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) was performed on 13 undialyzed patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) (serum creatinine concentrations: 4.0 +/- 0.6 mg/dL) who were suspected of having arteriosclerosis obliterans (ASO) due to symptoms and/or physical findings. In the 13 patients studied, MRA images of 10 patients exhibited stenosis or occlusion of iliac arteries, femoral arteries, a vertebral artery, or a carotid artery, indicating the presence of ASO. Four asymptomatic patients were diagnosed as having ASO by MRA. MRA showed ASO findings which were exactly the same as those shown by conventional angiography in one patient, suggesting that MRA is in good agreement with conventional angiography for evaluating arterial patency. Our study showed that MRA can reveal arterial patency in patients with CRF. MRA seems to be most suitable for patients with CRF to diagnose ASO, avoiding contrast nephropathy and acute deterioration of renal failure.