GE Healthcare of Chalfont St. Giles, U.K., is touting new study results that the company says indicate that its Visipaque contrast agent has a lower incidence of adverse events compared to a competing contrast agent.
Published in the December 2008 issue of Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions, the study compared Visipaque (iodixanol), an iso-osmolar agent, with iopromide, a low-osmolar agent marketed as Ultravist by Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals of Wayne, NJ.
In the study, a research team led by Dr. Bin Nie and colleagues from Beijing Anzhen Hospital compared Visipaque and Ultravist in a population of 208 patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) who were undergoing coronary interventions.
The researchers found that patients receiving Visipaque had a lower incidence of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) and composite cardiovascular events compared with Ultravist, according to GE. The authors said that there was no difference in image quality between the two contrast media, despite Ultravist's higher iodine content.
GE said the results of the study indicate that Visipaque is an appropriate choice for high-risk patients.
The authors noted that the results of their study did not match those of another recent study, most likely due to using different methods for measuring serum creatinine levels after contrast administration.
Related Reading
GE launches health IT initiatives, November 18, 2008
GE, UPMC to develop global oncology centers, November 14, 2008
GE debuts women's reproductive assessment software, November 11, 2008
Road to RSNA, Healthcare Informatics, GE Healthcare, November 10, 2008
GE launches Vivid E9 cardiac scanner, November 7, 2008
Copyright © 2008 AuntMinnie.com
