title: Effect of contrast media on red cell filtrability and morphology.
abstract: The effects of radiological contrast media on red cell morphology and rigidity have been studied. It has been shown that all the contrast agents studied, even when iso-osmolar with plasma, produce changes in red cell morphology, revealing the intrinsic chemotoxicity of contrast medium molecules. The changes are greatest with the most strongly protein-bound medium investigated--meglumine ioglycamide. The effects on red cell rigidity, on the other hand, appear purely a function of osmolality, being entirely reproducible with hyperosmolar solutions of saline. At concentrations iso-osmolar with plasma no effect on deformability is observed. Since the increased rigidity of red cells induced by contrast medium adversely affects blood flow, the use of the new low-osmolality contrast media is particularly recommended in pulmonary angiography and renal arteriography.
mesh_terms: D003287:Contrast Media / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D006400:Hematocrit; D006801:Humans; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D014462:Ultrafiltration
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media