Acute Adverse Effects of Iodine-Based Contrast Drugs - Research Paper Example

Abstract

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This research paper focuses on the examination and analysis of the acute adverse effects of iodine-cased contrast drugs with the view of highlighting the plight of the population regarding side effects caused by the drugs. To help in understanding the effect of such drugs on the human body, the study takes the analysis of various literary sources that talk about the same with the view of expanding knowledge base. The paper explains the benefits of using contrast drugs during the processes of conducting CT-scans and advises the population to acknowledge the benefits of such drugs and encourage their usage in the population. Another issue that the paper addresses is ways of mitigating the negative effects of such drugs to help in the reduction of the effects and ensure that the application of the drug in the population does not have any effects. Moreover, there are put forwards various suggestions on how to correct the adverse conditions on the human body.

The literature review enables the analysis of various books on the issues of adverse effects of iodine-based contrast drugs during examination of patients with CT scan to examine the views of various authors to help in correlating thoughts of different authors on the same topic. Issues that stand out from review of literature from different authors are that the young, the aged and the females are at a higher risk of being exposed to adverse effects of iodine-based contrast drugs. Moreover, there is the issue of predisposing factors that increase risk of attack thereby advising the people that have predisposing factors need to take keen attention when using iodine-based contrast drugs. Additionally, there is the idea of pregnancy and babies where the paper suggests that pregnant women and breast feeding mothers need to take keen attention when using iodine-based contrast drugs because they are at a greater risk of being exposed to the adverse reactions from such drugs.

1.0 Introduction

1.1 BackgroundIt is factual that technological development has been of great importance to the modern society and one of the fields that has greatly benefited from the same is the medical profession. It is factual that technological development in the medical profession has led to the development of instruments used in the X-ray-based imaging techniques among them being computed tomography (CT), radiography, and fluoroscopy (Namasivayam, Kalra, Torres & Small, 2006). However, the effectiveness of such instruments requires the use of iodine or barium compounds to improve visibility of internal structures and assist in the detection of diseases and disorders in the human body which help in the improvement of quality of health of the society. However, an issue that proves to be of importance to the population is the adverse effects that result from administration of contrast drugs made of iodine in the process of examination of patients with CT-scan (Hayashi, Narumi, Takagi, Takehara, Arai, Kuwatsuru & Fukuda, 2011). The topic has been of great interest to the population and this is due to the effects of the iodine-based contrast drugs and the benefits they have on the population, and especially those going through CT-scans.

Contrast drugs are otherwise called contrast agents, or contrast media and their main use is to improve the visibility of the quality of pictures of internal body organs in patients during the process of carrying out x-ray scans, magnetic resonance (MR), computed tomography (CT), and ultrasound (Jakobsen, 2007). In this manner, the help medics to differentiate between the normal and the abnormal conditions in the body; they do not discolor the body organs but they change in manner in which x-rays and other imaging tools react with the body to show images of the body organs. Such drugs are introduced into the body before carrying out imaging of the organs and they aid in making body tissues and structures appear differently on the images than they would have if no contrast drugs had been used (Stacul, 2007). The main aim of contrast drugs is to contrast or distinguish the selected body organs from the surrounding tissues in which the improved visibility makes it easy to diagnose medical conditions.

It is factual that iodine-based contrast drugs are of importance to the medical profession, specifically in the diagnosis of disease, conditions ad diseases in the human body, there are various adverse effects that result from the same that require attention (Palomaki, Muuronen, Raininko, Piilonen & Kaste, 2003). Although the drugs are mostly considered to be safe for use in the human body, there are adverse conditions that range from mild to severe conditions. However, the severe conditions are most unlikely to occur proving the need to examine the same and help in the prevention of such and improve effectiveness of the iodine-based drugs. In this relation, there often occurs serious cases of allergic reactions where there are mild, moderate and severe reactions in the human body. The mild reactions of the iodine-based contrast drugs include headache, vomiting, flushing among others, the moderate reactions, on the other hand are such as wheezing, abnormal breathing hear rhythms, severe skin rash or hives among others (Palomaki, Muuronen, Raininko, Piilonen & Kaste, 1994). Severe reactions in the body include cardiac arrest convulsions, profound low blood pressure among others; this proves the need to examine the adverse reactions to help in developing solutions towards the same and improve living conditions of the population.

1.2 Research ProblemThere have been various research works conducted towards the examination of the adverse reactions of iodine-based contrast drugs during the examination of patients with CT-scan. Despite the fact that various researchers have suggested that there are adverse effects when using such kinds of drugs, others posit that iodine-based drugs have mild effects on the human body proving the need to examine the issue in a holistic manner. Such examinations have been conducted on various patients of Sweden and the greater Northern Europe and it is still unclear where effects of iodine-based contrast drugs are either adverse or mild and that there is need to cause alarm regarding the use of such drugs and to change the types of drugs used during CT-scan. The need to examine the effects of such kinds of drugs was to help in sensitizing the population, and especially medics on the need to protect the lives of the population and engage in healthy scans. In engaging in deeper analysis, it is factual that the living conditions of the population would improve methods of carrying of scans. This paper therefore presents findings of various authors with regards to the adverse effects of iodine-based contrast drugs in the examination of patients with CT-scan conducted in recent times.

1.3 Significance of the Study

It is the onus of medics to provide the best treatment to the citizens and ensure that the society remains healthy at all times, additionally, medical professionals are tasked with the mandate of carrying out research works to identify new ways of carrying out examinations and CT-scans with the view of identifying diseases affecting the population. The high hopes that citizens have on the doctors call for the need to ensure that methods that doctors use during the processes of scanning are right and that they do not lead to any additional effects on the human body. The reason behind this research is to identify ways of carrying out CT-scans that do not have any detrimental effects on the patients and engage in the research processes that help in the identification of new kinds of drugs that do not have side effects on the patients. This paper therefore seeks to equip medical professional with knowledge of new ways of developing drugs that can be used during the examination of CT-scan and which have limited or no acute adverse effects.

There have been various research initiatives rolled out to formulate new types of iodine-based contrast drugs used during the examination of CT-scans and that do not have acute adverse effects. Such is because the population feels that using iodine-based contrast drugs with acute adverse effects during CT-scans makes such scans to be irrelevant as the sit leads to more expenses on the patients thereby making them useless. In this relation, this paper seeks to examine research works that have been carried out in recent times regarding adverse effects of drugs used during CT-scans with the view of analyzing the effects of such drugs and keep medical professionals updated on the new kinds of drugs or the initiatives that have been rolled out to reduce the kinds of acute adverse effects. Moreover, this study aims at enlightening the population about the adverse effects of iodine-based contrast drugs to identify ways of tackling such effects.

2.0 Literature Review

2.1. The Need for Iodine-containing Contrast Drugs

There is the need for patients to examine the use of iodine-containing contrast drugs in the society and their use during CT-scans. To help in understanding the necessity of such drugs in the population, there is the need to analyze what such drugs are and how they work in the human body (Thomsen, 2006). Iodine-containing contrast drugs are chemical substances that when injected into the body during the procedures of x-ray imaging, they show what is happening in the hollow parts of the human body among them being stomach, blood vessels, bowel, fluid around the spinal cord among others. Additionally, when such drugs are injected into the bloodstream either through the arteries or through the veins, they show characteristics of the inte...