Complications of Arthrography

Serious reactions to intra-articular contrast media are exceedingly rare, and arthrography is considered to be a very safe procedure. To assess the safety of arthrography, a questionnaire was sent to 180 radiologists experienced in arthrography. The 134 respondents had performed approximately 262,000 arthrograms throughout their career. Their experience included 45 cases of infection, eight cases of anaphylaxis, and five cases of vascular complications; no deaths were reported. Most of the reactions reported were minor and included pain, vasovagal reactions, and urticaria. In addition, the respondents reported approximately 13,300 magnetic resonance (MR) arthrograms, which had been performed with intra-articular gadolinium. Of these, there were only six cases of reported reactions, all of which were minor, including vasovagal reactions, pain, and headaches.