Visipaque is an iso-osmolar contrast agent. The osmolality equal to that of blood and the sodium and calcium concentration in a ratio equivalent to blood provides high patient safety and comfort.

Adverse reactions on contrast agents are rare, but like all other pharmaceuticals, contrast media are not completely without side effects.
Adverse effects to contrast media include allergic symptoms, anaphylactoid reactions, chemotoxic reactions, idiosyncratic reactions, contrast-induced nephropathy, iodide-induced hyperthyroidism and local tissue damage. An adverse reaction can be related to dose, the toxicity, and the physio-chemical properties of the contrast agent, for example osmolality, viscosity, and hydrophilicity.
Side effects such as a metallic taste in the mouth, generalized warmth or flushing, nausea and vomiting, increase with rapid flow and large volume of the injected agent. Although venous tolerance is usually good, there have been reports of sensation like burning, stinging or numbness and of venospasm.

Characterization of adverse reactions include:

Biliscopin® Infusion, an iodinated contrast medium for intravenous cholecystography is secreted actively by the hepatocytes. The biliary excretion rate of a biliary contrast medium is determined by the binding to plasma proteins and liver receptor proteins, and by its transport maximum for the liver. Because of its high hepatocellular transport rate, Biliscopin® Infusion leads rapidly to high grade contrast density in the intra-hepatic and extra-hepatic biliary ducts as well as in the gallbladder.
Computed tomography with biliary contrast agents provides maximum quality preoperative imaging of the biliary tract.

Conray® is a contrast agent intended for intravascular administration as a diagnostic radiopaque medium. Conray® is rapidly transported through the circulatory system to the kidneys and is excreted unchanged in the urine by glomerular filtration.
See also Ionic Contrast Agents, Contrast Media Injector, Dual-Head CT Power Injector, CT Power Injector.

(CA) Contrast agents are used to change the imaging characteristics, resulting in additional information about anatomy, morphology or physiology of the human body. Radiocontrast agents (also called photon-based imaging agents) are used to improve the visibility of internal body structures in x-ray and CT procedures. Contrast agents are also used to increase the contrast between different tissues in MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and ultrasound imaging. The ideal imaging agent provides enhanced contrast with little biological interaction.
First investigations with radiopaque materials are done shortly after the discovery of x-rays. These positive contrast agents attenuate x-rays more than body soft tissues due to their high atomic weight. Iodine and barium have been identified as suitable materials with high radiodensity and are used until today in x-ray and CT contrast agents. Iodine-based contrast agents are water-soluble and the solutions are used nearly anywhere in the body. Iodinated contrast materials are most administered intravenous, but can also be introduced intraarterial, intrathecal, oral, rectal, intravesical, or installed in body cavities. Barium sulfate is only used for opacification of the gastrointestinal tract. Negative contrast agents attenuate x-rays less than body soft tissues, for example gas.

Iodinated contrast media are differentiated in;

Intravascular iodinated contrast agents are required for a large number of x-ray and CT studies to enhance vessels and organs dependent on the blood supply. Injectable contrast agents are diluted in the bloodstream and rapidly distributed throughout the extracellular fluid. The main route of excretion is through the kidneys, related to the poor binding of the agent to serum albumin. The liver (gall bladder) and small intestine provide alternate routes of elimination particularly in patients with severe renal impairment. The use of special biliary contrast agents is suitable for gallbladder CT and cholecystograms because they are concentrated by the liver to be detectable in the hepatic bile.
The introduction of fast multi-detector row CT technology, has led to the development of optimized contrast injection techniques. The amount of contrast enhancement depends on the contrast agent characteristics, such as iodine concentration, osmolality, viscosity, and the injection protocol, such as iodine flux and iodine dose. Adverse reactions are rare and have decreased with the introduction of nonionic contrast agents.
See also Contrast Enhanced Computed Tomography, Abdomen CT, Contrast Media Injector, Single-Head CT Power Injector, Multi-Head Contrast Media Injector, Syringeless CT Power Injector, CT Power Injector.