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Fatal complications after myelography with meglumine diatrizoate

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Summary

A case of inadvertent intrathecal injection of diatrizoate meglumine is presented. After myelography with 10 ml i.e. 6.5 g Angiografin, a 76-year-old man rapidly developed myoclonus, drowsiness and excessive metabolic acidosis. He died only a few hours later. Postmortem showed non-specific brain edema. RP-HPL-Chromatography confirmed high concentration of the contrast medium in CSF (6 mg/ml) which must have induced refractory central nervous dysregulation. The lethal effects of the misapplication of this agent on the nervous system are discussed.

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Hilz, M.J., Huk, W., Schellmann, B. et al. Fatal complications after myelography with meglumine diatrizoate. Neuroradiology 32, 70–73 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00593948

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00593948

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