Radiology, Vol 136, 43-46, Copyright © 1980 by Radiological Society of North America
Cytogenetic effects of contrast material in patients undergoing excretory urography
ST Cochran, A Khodadoust and A Norman
Acentric chromosome fragments produced in cells by irradiation or other
agents give rise to micronuclei in daughter cells. The micronuclei can be
counted readily in large numbers of cells which provides a sensitive
measure of chromosome aberrations. Previous studies have shown that the
presence of contrast material enhances the radiation-induced yield of
micronuclei in vitro. This may be due to the dose enhancement effect and
the chemical action of contrast media or their derivatives. Micronuclei
were scored in peripheral blood lymphocytes obtained from 26 patients
before and after excretory urography (ExU). The results show a consistent
and significant increase in the counts after ExU amounting to about one
third of the counts blood samples before the examination. We have also
measured radiation exposures in this group and estimated an average
exposure to the circulating lymphocytes of about 0.2R (0.52 X 10(-4) C/kg).
We conclude that the contrast medium contributed significantly to the
increase in micronuclei.
