MRi with contrast

Is the contrast medium used for MRI's safe?  I recently saw an ad in our local paper from a law office looking for people injured by gadolinium, now I'm really nervous about having an MRI. Is the contrast necessary for a diagnosis when the doctor suspects multiple sclerosis?

[Dr. A. Srivastava]

Thank you for your question. Usually, such adverse reaction reported by any patient are very low (<5%) since there are a lot of factors that contributes to make them more harmful. I would only say that if this would have been more harmful then it could be banned by FDA or regulatory agencies. MRI is a quite useful diagnostic tool in MS or other neurological disorders and doesn't have a better replacement. I would suggest that you consult your treating neurologist to follow the precautions before going for MRI. Hope this helps.

[Catnip603]

Thank you for your response, Dr. Srivastava.

[caregiver222]

There a certain percentage of adverse fatal reactions to any dye medium. This generally takes place in a patient with a genetic susceptibility. Even if you have a reaction you are in a hospital with an intraveous lifeline and medical doctors available to respond immediately.

The incidence of adverse events is lower for the medium in the MRI that for the medium in the CT scan.

That being said, these are extremely rare, and a dye contrast MRI represents a significant advance over all means of diagnosing certain problems.

It is reasonable to be nervous, but the risk of an fatal adverse event is about the same as you getting hit by a meterorite. These things happen, but they are extremely rare.

In terms of risk-bebefit, the risk is very small, the benefits are tremendous.

Don't worry yourself.

[Catnip603]

Thanks, Caregiver.  The way my luck has been running lately, I probably will get hit by that meteorite.  :)   But you're right about this: "Even if you have a reaction you are in a hospital with an intraveous lifeline and medical doctors available to respond immediately."  And that is reassuring.