CT assessment of gallbladder opacification 12-24 hours after angiography]

After the injection of conventional contrast agents that are largely excreted in urine, gallbladder opacification is observed in patients with renal dysfunction. However, some reports have noted that gallbladder opacification on plain radiographs occurs frequently in patients without renal impairment after the intravenous administration of Ioxaglate, one of the new low-osmolality agents. We carried out CT examination 12-24 hours after angiography with various kinds of contrast media in 437 patients to examine the incidence of gallbladder opacification. The influence of hepatobiliary and renal function on the excretion of contrast medium is discussed. Gallbladder opacification was observed in more than 60% of the patients. This result indicates that gallbladder opacification is not a rare phenomenon, and is even common in delayed CT examinations of patients with normal renal function. The high frequency of gallbladder opacification was recognized not only in the renal dysfunction group but also in the normal liver function group. Gallbladder opacification in delayed CT examination shows that the hepatobiliary tract is important in the excretion of contrast medium.