MRI Contrast Agents: "No Family Should Have to Go Through This"

Rockledge, FLMore and more patients are learning the hard way how deadly gadolinium-based contrast agents can be if they have kidney problems. Too many families are suffering because their loved ones are given an MRI dye that they should never have received. Lawsuits are now being filed alleging that the dyes should not have been used in certain patients.

When Anna May Smith had her husband Jack admitted to the hospital, she made sure to tell staff that her husband had cognitive deficits and was a poor source of information about his medical health. Smith told the staff that no medical procedures were to be done without checking with her first.

Smith clarified why doctors needed to consult her about any procedures they intended to perform on her husband. "...my husband did not have the mental capacity to remember his medications and details of his medical history and if one is unfamiliar with the patient (as these doctors were), then the need for me to verify all information he could provide was imperative."

Smith had reason to be concerned. Her husband's doctors had previously told her that Jack was never to have a contrast agent injected, even if there was only a one percent chance of renal failure associated with the agent. The doctor informed Smith that MRIs could be done without the contrast agent and Jack was at a high risk for complications if a contrast dye was used.

The reason for the increased risk is that Jack had chronic kidney failure. He had to be very careful about the medications he took, and gadolinium-based agents can have very serious effects on people with kidney problems.

Jack was admitted to the hospital for evaluation of a stroke, which involved undergoing an MRI. Smith says when the doctor did the MRI he gave Jack the gadolinium-based contrast agent.

Two days after the MRI, Jack returned to the hospital with renal failure. "He received a death sentence," Smith says.

Less than a year after having the MRI with the contrast agent, Jack died.

Gadolinium-based contrast agents are used to provide a clear picture of the patient's internal organs, tissues, and bones. The contrast agent helps identify vessels and other tissues. However, because gadolinium is eliminated by the patient's kidneys, patients with any form of kidney failure are not supposed to have gadolinium-based dyes injected for MRIs, which can still be performed without the dye.

Jack, who had serious kidney problems, developed renal failure after he was given a gadolinium-based dye. Other patients who had kidney problems and were given an MRI contrast agent have developed Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF), a serious skin disorder that causes skin to thicken, sometimes to the point that joints and limbs become impossible to move.

Lawsuits are now being filed against the makers of the contrast agents, alleging they did not properly warn consumers about the risks of gadolinium-based dyes.