Kidney Patients

• Kidney patients are warned about the effects of gadolinium-contrasting agents since the kidneys are the main way the agent is excreted from the body. Symptoms of NSF include skin tightening, yellow-raised spots on the whites of the eyes, burning and itching of the skin, the development of dark marks on the skin and joint stiffness, among other conditions.
  
  

Other Side Effects

• General side effects for these types of agents include facial swelling, rashes, sweating, hives and itching.
  
  

Allergic Reactions

• The FDA does not consider allergic reactions to gadolinium-contrasting agents such as itching and swelling to be serious. On occasion, a patient may develop a severe reaction, and at times death may even occur (see Resources).
  
  

Warnings

• Following investigations into possible problems kidney patients may experience with this agent, the FDA has advised manufacturers to place a warning box on their labels (see Resources).
  
  

Gadolinium-Contrasting Agents

• Gadolinium-contrasting agents include Omniscan, Magnevist and OptiMARK.