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Frederick M. Vincent, MD
Munson Medical Center Traverse City, Mich

JAMA. 1980;244(24):2727.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

Metrizamide is a nonionic water-soluble contrast agent that is used primarily for myelographic examinations. A high incidence of transient side effects is noted to occur after its use; headache, nausea and vomiting, and back or leg pain are frequently seen.¹ Seizures and changes in mental status have been rarely reported; in one review only seven of 6,000 patients who had metrizamide myelograms suffered from seizures after the procedure, and these seizures may have been secondary to a preexisting seizure disorder or caused by pretreatment with neuroleptic medications.² We recently observed three patients who had asterixis develop after metrizamide myelography; to our knowledge, this side effect has not been previously reported.

Two of the patients had cervical myelograms, and a total dose of 2,200 mg I of metrizamide was injected into the lumbar subarachnoid space; the remaining patient received a total dose of 1,700 mg I . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Footnotes
Edited by John D. Archer, MD, Senior Editor.

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