Iopentol (Imagopaque 300) compared with ioxaglate (Hexabrix 320) in knee arthrography. A clinical trial assessing immediate and late adverse events and diagnostic information

This trial was designed to compare the incidence of delayed postprocedural pain after administration of iopentol (Imagopaque, Nycomed Imaging AS, Oslo, Norway) 300 mg I/ml versus ioxaglate (Hexabrix, Guerbet, Aulnay-sous-Bois, France) 320 mg I/ml in single-contrast knee arthrography. Other adverse events and radiographic efficacy were also evaluated. A randomized, double-blind study was performed in 120 patients. Immediate adverse events were recorded up to 30 min post-injection, and late adverse events, including knee pain and swelling, up to 4 days after the examination (by using a patient questionnaire). Diagnostic information obtained up to 20 min after injection was assessed using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Significantly more patients in the ioxaglate group (50%) than in the iopentol group (30%) reported increased knee pain during the 4 days following the examination (p < 0.05). Adverse events up to 30 min after the examination, and late adverse events other than knee pain, were reported by similar numbers of patients in the two contrast medium groups. The diagnostic information was similar in both groups. Both iopentol and ioxaglate are effective and safe contrast media for use in knee arthrography, but iopentol induces less postprocedural pain.