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Written By: Editorial Team | Published : October 22, 2012 9:29 AM IST
An allergic reaction to a dye administered before computed tomography (CT) resulted in a patient's death. It's believed the patient died of multiple organ failure. Experts warn it is essential to pre-scan the patient for conditions like asthma, lung ailments, etc. so that pre-scan drugs can be given to ensure no complications arise after administrating the dye.
Doctors are now stressing upon the importance of pre-scan preparation. This comes in the wake of the death of a patient in JJ Hospital allegedly due to an allergic reaction to a dye administered before computed tomography (CT) scan last week. The dye is administered intravenously and helps in identifying inflammation, cysts and other abnormalities.
According to doctors there was an adverse reaction after the administration of the dye owing to the patient's multi-system disorder. The batch of the dye medication has since been sent to the state FDA which will analyse the samples.
'Most hospitals have a standard operating procedure whereby the patient's consent is taken before administering the dye. It is essential to know the patient's history and identify conditions like asthma, lung ailments, etc. Accordingly, pre-scan drugs are given to ensure no complications arise after administrating the dye,' said Dr Subhash Ramani, professor and radiologist at Tata Memorial Hospital, The Indian Express quoted.
Contrast dyes cause side effects such as nausea, skin infection and dizziness. The percentage of deaths is small. Doctors say patients with existing additional conditions need to exercise extra caution as they already have a compromised immune system.
Dr Suleman Merchant, head of the radiology department of Sion Hospital said, 'Death due to contrast reaction is not unheard of. If a patient's medical condition is that of borderline failure, especially the renal chemistry, then administering the dye can result in complete failure leading to death.'
