Sometimes a physician will recommend an MRI with contrast after a regular MRI has unsuccessfully rendered the quality of images needed. Gadolinium, which is a paramagnetic metal ion, is commonly used in contrast MRIs because of the way it travels within magnetic fields. After placing a tourniquet around your hand or arm, your technician will use an IV or a small butterfly needle to inject the gadolinium or another type of contrast material.
Roughly milliliters of dye will be injected into your vein. The injection takes from seconds. Next, the radiologist removes the needle and places you into an MRI machine for your scan. The gadolinium contrast medium can also be administered by using an automated injector. Unless your doctor tells you otherwise, eat normally and keep taking your medications before your contrast MRI exam. Always consult with your physician before making any changes to diet or prescribed medication.
You might be familiar with an MRI machine as a large, cylindrical piece of equipment generating a strong magnetic field around you. But, you might not be aware of the crucial role contrast plays in an MRI. If you need an MRI with and without contrast , and are looking to book your appointment at Envision Imaging, below you can learn more about this technology, its uses and benefits and more. An MRI scan with contrast only occurs when your doctor orders and approves it.
The contrast medium enhances the image quality and allows the radiologist more accuracy and confidence in their diagnosis. Instead, it temporarily changes how imaging modalities view and interact with your body. After the completion of your imaging exam, either your body absorbs the contrast material, or you eliminate it through your urine. Not every MRI requires using a contrast agent. MRIs with and without contrast are both effective, and your doctor will determine which scan you need based on your present condition and your medical and health history.
Contrast MRIs are a great way to track the progression of multiple sclerosis. MRI scans have transformed how radiologists diagnose MS, and are now the primary method doctors use to diagnose the condition, to the exclusion of other techniques such as CT scans , since in MRI scans, the lesions appear quite distinctly. Doctors can often spot lesions reasonably easily anyway.
Regardless, an MRI with contrast detects new lesions as they form, helping doctors learn how fast the condition is progressing. Providers Portal Online Bill Pay. Call Today Patient Forms Request an Appointment. Preparation for the Scan Before you have an MRI scan, the radiologist may ask about your medical history and present condition.
Patient Education Want to know more about your test and what we are looking for? Find your condition or procedure in our online library. All Rights Reserved. Independent Imaging offers the most advanced and sophisticated imaging technology available. Scans showing the function of blood vessels in real time can be carried out using gadolinium contrast medium, and many heart abnormalities can only be fully assessed using gadolinium contrast medium. If a gadolinium injection is required, it will most likely be given by a radiographer or nurse, either by hand injection through a syringe and needle, or occasionally by a mechanical injector connected to the syringe this allows more precise timing and a more controlled rate of injection.
Normally, after some initial MRI scans have been carried out, the gadolinium injection will be given to you while you are in the scanner, before more scans are taken. If a gadolinium angiogram is carried out, some preliminary scans might be required immediately before the gadolinium injection, and it is important to lie still between the preliminary scan and the gadolinium injection.
The most common side effects of headache, nausea and dizziness occur in a small minority of patients only, but if they do occur they will be noticed within minutes of the injection. Allergic reactions usually begin within several minutes of the injection, when a patient is most likely still in the scanner, or still in the radiology practice or hospital. If you have had a previous severe reaction to a gadolinium-based agent, the radiologist will also consider whether you might need some preventive medications before any further gadolinium injection.
There is no way to predict which patients will experience minor side effects, such as headache and nausea, and no reliable preventive measures are known.
These will usually settle down without treatment, or with a simple analgesic for headache. If you have a history of severe allergic reactions, some people believe that taking some preventive medications in the hours before the scan can reduce the risk of another reaction, if a gadolinium injection is thought essential to the diagnosis.
Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis NSF is a rare condition associated with gadolinium contrast medium given to patients with severe renal kidney disease. Its onset occurs days, weeks or months after receiving gadolinium, with almost all cases occurring within 6 months of the last dose.
Since radiology facilities began routinely screening patients for kidney disease, and withholding gadolinium from those with severe renal disease, NSF has become extremely uncommon. If you do have a history of kidney disease, please be sure to tell the staff at the MRI practice, so that they can check whether the disease is severe enough to mean that you should not receive gadolinium.
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This is the most simple, cost-effective and readily accessible imaging technique available.
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