The Journal of invasive cardiology
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Use of the radial artery for cardiac catheterization and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) continues to expand. Cannulating the radial artery can be one of the most challenging aspects of the radial approach. Ultrasound-guided vascular access may be a method to improve first-attempt success rates and shorten time to radial artery access. ⋯ UGRAA improved first-attempt success rates and shortened the time needed for radial artery cannulation when compared to historical data of palpation-directed radial artery access. A large randomized trial of palpation versus UGRAA will be required to confirm this finding. Furthermore, this technique is easy to learn and incorporate into everyday practice in the cardiac catheterization lab.