Gadobenate Dimeglumine May Be Safe for Dialysis Patients

Use of contrast agent gadobenate dimeglumine among patients with renal disease who are undergoing dialysis appears to be safe, according to a study published in Radiology.

Researchers from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, sought to determine the incidence of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) in patients who are undergoing peritoneal dialysis, hemodialysis, or nondialysis who received gadobenate dimeglumine.

A total of 172 women and 229 men (mean age of 50) participated in the study; 75.5% (303 patients) were dialysis-dependent, with a mean eGFR ± standard deviation of 17 mL/min per 1.73 m² ± 5.6 (range, 6–41 mL/min per 1.73 m²; median, 16.3 mL/min per 1.73 m²). In the nondialysis group (98 patients), 94 had chronic renal failure and four had acute renal failure. The patients had an abnormal estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and underwent MR imaging and/or MR angiography with gabobenate dimeglumine in 2010.

The mean follow-up was 2.35 years, during which time no patient was diagnosed with NSF.[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_crop","fid":"42306","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image media-image-right","id":"media_crop_6467222157478","media_crop_h":"0","media_crop_image_style":"-1","media_crop_instance":"4557","media_crop_rotate":"0","media_crop_scale_h":"0","media_crop_scale_w":"0","media_crop_w":"0","media_crop_x":"0","media_crop_y":"0","style":"height: 124px; width: 200px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; margin: 1px; float: right;","title":"©sfam photo/Shutterstock.com","typeof":"foaf:Image"}}]]

The researchers concluded that study subjects with renal failure who were undergoing peritoneal dialysis, hemodialysis, or nondialysis with renal failure did not develop NSF after administration of gadobenate dimeglumine. “Gadobenate dimeglumine may be safe in this population,” they wrote.