RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES. The dialyzability of iopamidol is unknown an
d was investigated in patients undergoing long-term hemodialysis for c
hronic renal failure. METHODS. Ten patients received 30 ml Niopam 300
(Bracco SpA, Milan, Italy) (=18372 mg iopamidol) intravenously into a
forearm vein to investigate for occult subclavian stenosis. RESULTS. T
he elimination half-life of iopamidol before hemodialysis was 69.6 hou
rs and during 4 hours of hemodialysis was 3.5 hours. A single 4-hour h
emodialysis cleared 55.7% (95% Ci 51-5-59.8) of the administered dose,
while second and third dialyses cleared 25.3% (95% Ci 21.4-29.1) and
10.1% (95% Ci 7.7-12.6) of the administered dose, respectively. Two pa
tients with significant residual urine excretion excreted more than 10
% of the administered dose in the urine. For anuric patients, extraren
al clearance provided total body clearance of up to 0.266 L/hr. CONCLU
SIONS. Hemodialysis is a rapid and efficient means of clearing iopamid
ol provided it is performed soon after the contrast study.