On the safety of radial artery cannulation

TLDR: It is concluded that in the absence of peripheral vascular disease, the Allen's test is not a predictor of ischemia of the hand during or after radial artery cannulation, that when decreased or absent radial artery flow follows cannulation it is of no clinical consequence, and that radial arteries cannulation is a low-risk high-benefit monitoring technique that deserves wide clinical use.

Abstract: The frequency of complications following radial artery cannulation for monitoring purposes was determined in 1,699 cardiovascular surgical patients and in 83 patients in whom cannulation was performed in another artery after failure at the radial site. Patients were examined and radial artery flow d