Gadodiamide

Pregnancy Category C: Gadodiamide has been shown to have an adverse effect on embryo-fetal development in rabbits at dosages as low as 0.5 mmol/kg/day for 13 days during gestation (approximately 0.6 times the human dose based on a body surface area comparison). These adverse effects are observed as an increased incidence of flexed appendages and skeletal malformations which may be due to maternal toxicity since the body weight of the dams was reduced in response to gadodiamide administration during pregnancy. In rat studies, fetal abnormalities were not observed at doses up to 2.5 mmol/kg/day for 10 days during gestation (1.3 times the maximum human dose based on a body surface area comparison); however, maternal toxicity was not achieved in these studies and a definitive conclusion about teratogenicity in rats at doses above 2.5 mmol/kg/day cannot be made. Adequate and well controlled studies in pregnant women have not been conducted. Gadodiamide should only be used during pregnancy if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus.

It is not known whether this drug is excreted in human milk. Because many drugs are excreted in human milk, exercise caution when administering gadodiamide to a nursing woman.

Because clinical studies are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical studies of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical studies of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in practice.

Clinical Studies Experience (Adults)

In clinical studies 1,160 patients were exposed to gadodiamide. The most frequent adverse reactions were nausea, headache, and dizziness that occurred in 3% or less of the patients. The majority of these reactions were of mild to moderate intensity.

The following adverse reactions occurred in 1% or less of patients:

Application Site Disorders: Injection site reaction.

Autonomic Nervous System Disorders: Vasodilation.

Body as a Whole-General Disorders: Anaphylactoid reactions (characterized by cardiovascular, respiratory, and cutaneous symptoms), fever, hot flushes, rigors, fatigue, malaise, pain, syncope.

Cardiovascular Disorders: Cardiac failure, rare arrhythmia and myocardial infarction resulting in death in patients with ischemic heart disease, flushing, chest pain, deep thrombophlebitis.

Central and Peripheral Nervous System Disorders: Convulsions including grand mal, ataxia, abnormal coordination, paresthesia, tremor, aggravated multiple sclerosis (characterized by sensory and motor disturbances), aggravated migraine.

Gastrointestinal System Disorders: Abdominal pain, diarrhea, eructation, dry mouth/vomiting, melena.

Hearing and Vestibular Disorders: Tinnitus.

Liver and Biliary System Disorders: Abnormal hepatic function.

Musculoskeletal System Disorders: Arthralgia, myalgia.

Respiratory System Disorders: Rhinitis, dyspnea.

Skin and Appendage Disorders: Pruritus, rash, erythematous rash, sweating increased, urticaria.

Special Senses, Other Disorders: Taste loss, taste perversion.

Urinary System Disorders: Acute reversible renal failure.

Vision Disorders: Abnormal vision.

Clinical Studies Experience (Pediatrics)

In the 97 pediatric patients in CNS studies with gadodiamide and the 144 pediatric patients in published literature, the adverse reactions were similar to those reported in adults.

Postmarketing Experience

Because postmarketing reactions are reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is not always possible to reliably estimate their frequency or establish a causal relationship to drug exposure.

The following adverse reactions have been identified during the postmarketing use of gadodiamide:

Nervous System Disorders: Inadvertent intrathecal use causes seizures, coma, paresthesia, paresis.

General Disorders: Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF).