• Timothy P Maus, Beth A Schueler, Dixon J Magnuson, and Dayne Magnuson.
• Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
• Pain Med. 2017 Apr 1; 18 (4): 651-654.

ObjectiveTo assess the relative radiographic conspicuity of gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) that may be used in spinal injection procedures when iodine-based contrast agents are contraindicated.MethodsEight GBCAs and three iodinated agents of varying iodine concentrations were radiographed under conditions representative of lumbar spinal injections at four kilovoltage peak (kVp) values. Radiographic contrast of each agent was measured as the percent pixel value difference with respect to background.ResultsGadobutrol (Gadovist, 1 mM/mL) had the highest radiographic contrast among the gadolinium agents tested. Measured radiographic contrast correlated with the molar concentration of gadolinium. Gadobutrol radiographic contrast lies between the contrast of iohexol concentrations of 240 and 140 mgI/mL. All agents have decreasing contrast as kVp increases, but GBCAs decrease less than iodine-based agents.ConclusionsGadobutrol is the GBCA with the greatest conspicuity for use in spinal injection procedures. It also has the highest molar concentration of gadolinium, and potential neural toxicity from intrathecal delivery must be considered.© 2017 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

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