Abdominal bruits. Clinical and angiographic correlation
M. J. McLoughlin, R. J. Colapinto and B. B. Hobbs
The results of abdominal auscultation were correlated with abdominal
angiograms in 503 patients. Bruits were heard in 106 (21%). The majority of
bruitswere in the epigastrium, mainly because of a high incidence of celiac
artery stenosis usually of the extrinsic compression type. Sixty-seven
patients had stenoses or occlusions of one or more renal arteries and 27
(40%) had bruits. Most of these patients, however, had other possible
causes for their bruits, usually related to atherosclerosis of coincidental
celiac compression. Collateral channels were considered to be the cause of
epigastric bruits in eight of ten patients with complete occlusion of the
celiac artery and in two patients with spelic artery occlusions. Collateral
channels may be partly responsible for bruits in many patients with celiac
artery stenosis.
