Gadolinium based contrast agents (GBCA): Safety overview after 3 decades of clinical experience

Abstract

In the past three decades, we have learned much about the potential short-term and long-term safety issues associated with the intravenous administration of gadolinium based contrast agents (GBCAs). Yet, surprisingly, the past few years and even months have been accompanied by new discoveries in this field. This manuscript focuses predominantly on what we have learned - and are continuing to learn - about the long-term potential MR safety issues associated with the administration of the various GBCAs available today and will highlight areas in which they appear to differ from each other at least in a quantitative fashion, if not qualitatively.

Keywords: Contrast agents; GBCA; Gadolinium; MRI; Magnetic resonance imaging; NSF; Safety; Transmetallation.