Gadolinium Side Effects

There was a recent news article about a woman who recently settled a lawsuit with GE Healthcare after developing nephrogenic systemic fibrosis because of the side effects of gadolinium.  GE Healthcare manufactures the FDA approved gadolinium based contrast agent known as Omniscan.

54 year old Margaret Roxbough of Glasgow, Scotland, went for an MRI exam in September 2006.  It was a standard procedure, and she was administered with the Omniscan contrast agent to improve the results of the scan.  However, neither she nor the doctor knew that she had kidney disease.  Without functional kidneys, the body was not able to expel the traces of gadolinium from her body afterwards, and allowing NSF to develop.  Although there was “horrendous pain” the next day, the doctor wrote it off as mild side effects of the MRI scan and said they should go away soon enough.

Margaret Roxbough still experiences excruciating pain.  The skin on her legs is completely raw and it is too painful to cover it with any type of clothing.

In 2004, two years prior to her scan, a woman in Denmark had died from the symptoms of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis.  In 2006, it had been noted by Henrik Thomas that all the patients diagnosed with NSF at his hospital had one thing in common – they were injected with Omniscan, the contrast dye produced by GE Healthcare.

Subsequently, Ms. Roxbough had sued GE Healthcare, and the lawsuit was recently settled.  The FDA now requires a warning label detailing the risks of NSF on Omniscan agents, as well as all FDA regulated gadolinium based contrast agents.

This could have been avoided had it been known she was suffering from renal disease prior to her MRI scan.  It is absolutely crucial that if the doctor suggests the use of a contrast dye for an MRI scan that YOU GET TESTED FOR KIDNEY DISEASE BEFORE THE PROCEDURE to avoid all side effects of gadolinium contrast dye.  If you do have a documented history of kidney complications, be sure to discuss the severity of the problems and how risky a gadolinium based contrast agent would be to your health.