A comparative study to evaluate the role of intra-articular adrenaline in double-contrast knee arthrography

The addition of adrenaline to meglumine iothalamate (Conray 280) in double-contrast knee arthrography significantly improves meniscal coating, in both immediate and delayed films, when compared with iothalamate alone. The quality of coating is comparable to that with sodium meglumine ioxaglate (Hexabrix 320) without adrenaline. The addition of adrenaline to ioxaglate produces no significant improvement in arthrographic quality in either immediate or delayed films. The use of iothalamate with adrenaline is less expensive than ioxaglate alone, but this financial advantage has to be balanced against the significantly greater pain associated with the use of intra-articular adrenaline.