Assessment of the side-effects of iomeprol.

Adverse reactions were investigated in a group of 1918 patients enrolled in a study for the clinical assessment of iomeprol. The incidence of adverse reactions in the group was 5.3%. Dermatological symptoms were the principal adverse reactions. No previously unreported side-effects from iodinated contrast media were detected. Most adverse reactions were of slight or moderate intensity and most appeared within 3 h of the injection. The examinations which elicited a comparatively high frequency of adverse reactions were cerebral angiography, abdominal angiography, peripheral angiography, intravenous urography and thoracic angiography. No significant sex differences were noted with respect to the occurrence of adverse reactions, but such effects were more frequent among younger patients, among patients with allergic conditions and among patients who had previously received iodinated contrast media. As regards the manner of injection of iomeprol, there were no definite trends in terms of the iodine concentration used or the quantity of contrast medium injected, but the incidence of adverse reactions was comparatively high for intravenous as compared with intra-arterial injection.