Cardiac and hemodynamic tolerability of iopromide with or without sodium or iloprost and of ioversol in the anesthetized rat.

Rationale and Objectives: In this study, the cardiac and hemodynamic effects of iopromide alone were compared with those of two combination preparations (iopromide plus sodium and iopromide plus the prostacyclin analog iloprost) and with ioversol after left ventricular bolus administration in rats.
Methods: The tracheae of anesthetized male Wistar rats were cannulated to facilitate spontaneous respiration. The animals were set up to allow recording or calculation of the following parameters: femoral arterial blood pressure (systolic, mean, and diastolic), left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, heart rate, and contractility. Iopromide (330 mg iodine/mL; 2 g iodine/kg) with or without sodium chloride (20 mmol/L) or iloprost (approximately 50 ng/mL; dose: 300 ng/kg) was injected into the left ventricle within 30 seconds. Ioversol (320 mg iodine/mL) was used at the same dose and injection rate.
Results: Iopromide and ioversol induced transient changes in blood pressure (decrease followed by an increase), left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (increase), heart rate (decrease), contractility (increase followed by decrease), and electrocardiogram (extrasystoles, ST depression). Ioversol exhibited more pronounced effects on contractility and ST depression. The differences were statistically significant. The addition of sodium to iopromide resulted in a slight, but not significant influence on cardiac or hemodynamic parameters. The addition of iloprost improved ST depression slightly and hemodynamics significantly resulting in less mean and end-diastolic blood pressure change and less heart rate decrease. Contractility was significantly increased compared with iopromide with or without sodium.
Conclusions: The addition of sodium or iloprost to nonionic contrast media might be useful in the alleviation of cardiac and hemodynamic side-effects.