Sensation of smell and taste during intravenous injection of iodinated contrast media in CT examinations.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the incidence and types of sensation of smell and taste during i.v. injection of five kinds of contrast media (CM) in CT examinations.


METHODS
735 patients who underwent contrast-enhanced CT (CE-CT) between 14 March 2016 and 5 April 2016 were enrolled. Medical staff asked patients whether they felt heat sensation and sensation of smell and taste during i.v. injection of CM (one of the following: iopromide, iomeprol, iopamidol, iohexol and ioversol) after their CE-CT. If the patients stated having felt the sensation of smell or taste, they were also asked what kind of smell or taste they sensed. Next, 30 ml of each CM was poured into high-purity pet cups for radiological technologists to smell directly. Radiological technologists were asked whether or not each CM had any smell.


RESULTS
The sensations of smell and taste incidence for iopromide were 24.3% and 18.9%, respectively, which were significantly higher than those for other CM (p < 0.05). The highest incidence of the sensation of smell was medicine-ish, and the most frequently noted taste was bitterness. All radiological technologists could directly smell only iopromide, which has an ether group on a side chain and fewer hydroxyl groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Iopromide showed a higher incidence of sensation of smell and taste than other CM. Advances in knowledge: This was the first investigation of sensation of smell and taste during i.v. injection of CM, and a specific CM showed a higher incidence, which is suspected to be due to its chemical structure.
1 Department of Radiology, Gunma University Hospital, Maebashi, Gunma, Japan.
Naoto
N
Yamaguchi
1 Department of Radiology, Gunma University Hospital, Maebashi, Gunma, Japan.
Yasuhiro
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5134-2778
Y
Fukushima
2 Department of Bioimaging Information Analysis, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Maebashi, Gunma, Japan.
Aiko
A
Yamaguchi
3 Department of Radiology, Mie University Hospital, Tsu, Mie, Japan.
Naoki
N
Nagasawa
4 Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Maebashi, Gunma, Japan.
Ayako
A
Taketomi-Takahashi
1 Department of Radiology, Gunma University Hospital, Maebashi, Gunma, Japan.
Takayuki
T
Suto
4 Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Maebashi, Gunma, Japan.
Yoshito
Y
Tsushima
D000368:Aged; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D007472:Iohexol / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D007479:Iopamidol / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012903:Smell / Q000187:drug effects*; D013649:Taste / Q000187:drug effects*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014283:Triiodobenzoic Acids / Q000009:adverse effects
D003287:Contrast Media; D014283:Triiodobenzoic Acids; C057937:iomeprol; D007472:Iohexol; C038192:iopromide; D007479:Iopamidol; C054871:ioversol