FDA warning about deadly MRI drug effects

[General Zod]

Well this doesn't sound good.

WASHINGTON—Federal health regulators are warning that a class of injectable drugs used in medical imaging scans such as MRIs can cause a rare and sometimes fatal condition in patients with kidney disease.

The Food and Drug Administration is adding warning labels to imaging agents that contain the chemical gadolinium, saying they should not be used in patients with kidney problems.

The agency says the drugs can lead to a rare syndrome that causes hardening of the skin and tissue growth along joints, eyes and internal organs. The ailment is called nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy and can be fatal. It is most common among patients with kidney failure.

Products subject to the warnings include Bayer Healthcare's Magnevist and GE Healthcare's Omniscan.

How many board members have gone in to get MRIs lately?

[open_sketchbook]

I think we ought to start by asking if anyone has kidney problems first.

[TheFeniX]

Hilariously enough, I have my MRI results from back in 2008 in my desk. Looking them over, I was injected with Omniscan for contrast and the only side effect was my gums tasting like a combination of blood and metal (not the same copper taste that blood has though) for a day or two. Although some doctors get worried when they inspect my urine sample (they assume some kind of kidney issue), every physical I have usually ends with the doctor looking back and forth between me and my chart saying "you're actually pretty healthy."

I have always refrained from saying "well, you're actually a competent doctor."

I do recall being asked by the MRI technician if I had any kidney problems though. Supposedly, the contrast can be pretty rough on them.

[SirNitram]

How many board members have gone in to get MRIs lately?

Multiple since 2004. Whee!

[Simon_Jester]

The problem seems to be a side effect of the drugs, not the MRI, though. Is this a rapid or slow onset condition?

[General Zod]

The problem seems to be a side effect of the drugs, not the MRI, though.

I thought I made that pretty clear in the topic. I couldn't phrase it the way I wanted to without exceeding the character limit.

[Simon_Jester]

The problem seems to be a side effect of the drugs, not the MRI, though.

I thought I made that pretty clear in the topic. I couldn't phrase it the way I wanted to without exceeding the character limit.

Sorry. You're right; I didn't mean to contradict anyone else's statement with the above quote. It kind of popped out of my head.

The real question was about whether the disease had a fast or slow onset. If it's a case where you take a gadolinium-laced drug one day and are showing major symptoms a week later, no one on the board is liable to be at risk if they haven't already got it. If it's a case where it can creep up on you... different story.