Contrast Agent

[Meg1110]

My GP sent me for an MRI with and without contrast to rule out Multiple Sclerosis. The nurse told me I would be injected with Gadolinium, but my bill from the pharmacy said Technetium-99m Pentetate was used. Would this do the same job as Gadolinium? And is there a length of time that the contrast agent needs to make it's way to the "site" in order for it to be effective?

[Meg1110]

Thank you Dr. Wang. I called the hospital where the test was performed and they said maybe pharmacy sent the wrong number to billing. I'm going to look into this further.

If it turns out I was given Gadolinium, would the contrast need some time to make it to the brain to obtain accurate images? The first part of the MRI without contrast took approximately 25 minutes. The nurse then administered the injection and the technologist immediately resumed the test, finishing the contrast portion of the exam in approximately five minutes. I'm wondering if the MRI was done accurately at this point.

[Eric Wang, MD]

These are definitely NOT the same, and perhaps a call is in order to figure out what you were given and what you were billed for. MRI contrast is Gadolinium-based... Technetium-99m is used as a radiotracer for nuclear medicine scintigraphy, not for MRI.