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Studies in rats on iocetamic acid show that the LD50 levels of this compound compare favorably with those of a number of other oral cholecystographic agents. Pathologic effects are not found in rats and cats in studies of the subacute toxicity. Incompatibility with an anesthetic or a tranquilizer is not found. The elimination pattern of iocetamic acid in rats and human subjects is different. In rats intestinal excretion is dominating; in human subjects 62% of the dose administered is eliminated in the urine within the first 48 hours. The proportion of iodine recovered from the bile collected in 9 postcholecystectomy patients with biliary fistulas within the first 14 hours after oral administration of iocetamic acid averages 32.3% of the amount of iodine administered; this is enough for good or excellent radiographic findings. No significant changes in the functions of kidney, liver, circulation, or bone marrow are observed in patients after oral administration of routine doses of iocetamic acid. Only the total bilirubin content of plasma increases signficantly within 14 hours; this is a common symptom in oral cholecystography which disappears within 1 week after the administration.

A new oral cholecystographic medium called iocetamicacid was submitted to a toxicologic study in rats and dogs. Dosages, which were equivalent to 200 and 1000 mg of the compound per kilogram of body weight per day and were 5 times and 25 times the human routine dose, were administered daily for 3 weeks in order to establish whether the substance exerted an untoward influence on vital organs. In the male rats the thyroid was activated by both doses, but no thyroid activation was demonstrable in dogs. There were no indications of damage of the cells of the liver or kidney. The study showed that iocetamic acid had no special affinity for the kidneys. With the exception of the increased thyroid activity in male rats, no changes were found which could be ascribed to the administration of iocetamic acid.