Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis After Gadolinium Exposure

Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis After Gadolinium Exposure Linked to Other Underlying Disease
A retrospective study evaluated the records of patients with pathologically proven nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) and compared them with control subjects to evaluate for risk factors associated with development of NSF. They found that all seven patients who developed NSF had received gadodiamide prior to the onset of symptoms. Although no single risk factor was found in all patients, all of them had coexistant inflammatory disease (positive ANA, recent surgical procedure, or granulomatous disease). All seven patients had renal failure; four of them had chronic renal failure, and all of these four received dialysis prior to developing NSF, suggesting that dialysis does not protect against development of the disease. Conclusion: Although NSF develops in patients with renal insufficiency, there is also likely a link to underlying inflammatory disease. In addition, dialysis does not protect against the development of NSF[1].

1.
http://www.ajronline.org/aheadofprint/04_07_2822.dtl (article to appear in AJR in April 2008).