New Study Enters MRI Health Risks Debate

Washington, DCEver since the issue of MRI health risks began circulating and rising to the top of the public conscience, Gadolinium kidney failure has been hotly debated—especially with its link to nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) and increased risk for MRI and kidney failure when used in association with MRI for persons with compromised kidneys.

However, a new study casts a certain amount of doubt.

The study: High-Dose Gadodiamide for Catheter Angiography and CT in Patients With Varying Degrees of Renal Insufficiency: Prevalence of Subsequent Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis and Decline in Renal Function, was recently undertaken at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida.

The results of the study were published in the American Journal of Roentgenology.

"The purpose of our study was to evaluate the prevalence of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis and nephrotoxicity among patients with differing degrees of renal dysfunction who are exposed to high doses of gadodiamide," said Mellena D. Bridges, MD, lead author of the study.

A search of medical records identified patients who received high-dose IV gadodiamide for catheter angiography or CT between January 2002 and December 2005. The cohort was limited to patients who had received a dose of at least 40 mL of gadodiamide during a single imaging session, who underwent at least one year of clinical follow-up, and who had moderate to end-stage renal disease (estimated glomerular filtration rate [GFR]