Ultraschall Med 2006; 27(4): 308
DOI: 10.1055/s-2006-950490
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© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Book Review

Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
30 August 2006 (online)

 
Table of Contents
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    H. S. Thomsen (Ed.)

    Contrast Media - Safety issues and ESUR Guidelines

    Medical Radiology/Diagnostic Imaging, Series Eds. A. L. Baert, K. Sator

    Heidelberg/Berlin: Springer 2006

    183 pages, 2 figures, 27 tables

    49,95 €, ISBN 3-540-20448-2

    The latest information and updates on adverse effects and risks of contrast media has been published recently by the corresponding safety committee of the European Society of Urogenital Radiology (ESUR). The members of this committee, who are all experts on various fields of contrast media research, and Henrik S. Thomsen as editor of this compendium have compiled and reviewed all literature available concerning safety issues in combination with the actual official committee guidelines for practial use.

    The book is presented as hardcover and divided into 6 sections dealing with the specific effects of iodintated, Gadolinum, Barium or ultrasound contrast media: Starting with a comprehensive introduction of terminology, classification and legal aspects, general and specific adverse effects observed when using the different contrast media, e.g. during pregnancy and dialysis or effects on blood or thyroid function are discussed.

    A wide spectrum of known effects has been summarized and evaluated: interactions of contrast media with organs as well as with drugs or associations with allergy or asthma appearance are noted and discussed. At the end of each section a comprehensive collection of relevant and actual references is listed.

    Many pages of the book are devoted to the management of general, acute or late adverse effects of contrast media which are discussed in detail. Besides interactions with other drugs (e.g. interleukin, blockers) are presented, too. These explicitly named topics are only two of many merits of the book, that ends with a large and detailed subject index.

    Concerning the topics and content of the book it is not necessary to write more: The book, together with the latest ESUR guidelines, is a unique resource of information dealing with safety issues of contrast media and can be recommended emphatically to each radiologist or related physician who is using contrast media in daily practice. In three words : "A MUST HAVE ".

    Christian Kollmann, Vienna

     
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