Drug addiction has been one of the serious social problems. The peripheral phlebitis caused by drug injection is common, but the occurrence of pseudoaneurysm with infection of femoral artery from injection injury was rarely reported in China. From January 1995 to March 1996, six cases of injury of femoral artery with infection from heroine injection were admitted. The characteristics of the injury were described. The therapeutic measures and details of attention to be needed were discussed. It was concluded that this type of injury was different from the injury caused in agricultural, industrial or traffic accidents. The treatment of choice depended upon the type of injury.
The injuries of the femoral arteries were mistreated in 5 cases. The causes of the mistakes were resulted from: the initial cause of the injury was not carefully analyzed; the arterial injury was overlooked by the concomitant injuries, and the improper method of management was selected, as a result, 2 patients died from acute renal failure and the other 3 patients developed the complications of secondary thrombosis of the artery or rupture of the artery at the anastomotic site following repair. Of the 3 patients, 2 patients had recovered following reoperation and the other 1 patient had lost his limb from amputation. It should be emphasized that all of the following key points might avoid the mistakes occurred in the management of the injury of the femoral artery: (1) early diagnosis; (2) debredment of arteral end; (3) in infections wounds, insted of vein transplantation bypass technique should be done.