Iopamidol Side Effects

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Jan 10, 2025.

Applies to iopamidol: injection solution.

Precautions

It is very important that your doctor check your or your child's progress closely while you are receiving this medicine to see if the medicine is working properly and to decide if you should continue to receive it. Blood and urine tests may be needed to check for any unwanted effects.

This medicine may cause heart attack, stroke, and blood clotting problems. Tell your doctor right away if you or your child has chest pain that may spread to your arms, jaw, back, or neck, trouble breathing, nausea, unusual sweating, faintness, coughing up blood, numbness or weakness in your arm or leg, or on one side of your body, sudden or severe headache, or problems with vision, speech, or walking after receiving this medicine.

Check with your doctor right away if you have bloody urine, a decrease in frequency or amount of urine, an increase in blood pressure, increased thirst, loss of appetite, lower back or side pain, nausea, swelling of the face, fingers, or lower legs, trouble breathing, unusual tiredness or weakness, vomiting, or weight gain. These could be symptoms of a serious kidney problem.

This medicine may cause hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) in children 3 years of age and younger. Children with congenital (from birth) heart problems may have an increased risk of hypothyroidism. Check with your doctor right away if your child has depressed mood, dry skin and hair, feeling cold, hair loss, hoarseness or a husky voice, muscle cramps and stiffness, slowed heartbeat, weight gain, or unusual tiredness or weakness.

Serious skin reactions , including Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS), and acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis can occur with this medicine. Check with your doctor right away if you have black, tarry stools, blistering, peeling, or loosening of the skin, chest pain, chills, cough, diarrhea, fever, itching, joint or muscle pain, painful or difficult urination, red irritated eyes, red skin lesions, often with a purple center, sore throat, sores, ulcers, or white spots in the mouth or on the lips, swollen glands, unusual bleeding or bruising, or unusual tiredness or weakness.

This medicine may cause serious allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, which can be life-threatening and require immediate medical attention. Tell your doctor right away if you have chest tightness, cough, difficulty swallowing, dizziness, fast heartbeat, hives, itching, skin rash, puffiness or swelling of the eyelids or around the eyes, face, lips, or tongue, trouble breathing, or unusual tiredness or weakness after you receive this medicine.

Tell your doctor right away if you or your child has mild, burning pain, feeling of warmth or coldness, peeling of the skin, redness, or swelling at the injection site.

While using this medicine, you may be exposed to radiation. Talk with your doctor if you have concerns about this.

Make sure any doctor or dentist who treats you knows that you are using this medicine. This medicine may affect the results of certain medical tests.

Do not take other medicines unless they have been discussed with your doctor. This includes prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicines and herbal or vitamin supplements.

Serious side effects of iopamidol

Along with its needed effects, iopamidol may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention.

Check with your doctor or nurse immediately if any of the following side effects occur while taking iopamidol:

Other side effects of iopamidol

Some side effects of iopamidol may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects.

Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them:

For healthcare professionals

Applies to iopamidol: injectable solution, intrathecal solution.

General adverse events

The most commonly reported adverse reactions after oral administration of this drug are vomiting and diarrhea.

If administered intrathecally, the most frequently reported adverse reactions are headache, nausea, vomiting, and musculoskeletal pain . These reactions are usually mild to moderate, occur 1 to 10 hours after injection (almost all occurring within 24 hours), and usually disappearing within 24 hours.^[Ref]

Gastrointestinal

• Very common (10% or more): Nausea
• Common (1% to 10%): Vomiting
• Uncommon (0.1% to 1%): Anorexia, diarrhea, abdominal discomfort, dry mouth
• Frequency not reported:Severe retching and choking, abdominal cramps (may occur as a consequence of the procedure), salivary hypersecretion, salivary gland enlargement, rectal hemorrhage, dysphagia, heartburn^[Ref]

Cardiovascular

• Common (1% to 10%): Extrasystoles, atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation
• Uncommon (0.1% to 1%): Tachycardia, hypotension, hypertension, myocardial ischemia, circulatory collapse, ST-segment depression bigeminy extrasystoles, angina pectoris, bradycardia, transient ischemic attack, thrombophlebitis, flushing, bradycardia
• Frequency not reported: Arterial spasm, vasodilation, chest pain, cardiopulmonary arrest, myocardial infarction, arterial thrombosis, displacement of arterial plaques, venous thrombosis, dissection of the coronary vessels, transient sinus arrest, cerebral hematomas, petechiae, cardiorespiratory arrest, pallor, electrocardiogram change including ST segment depression, cyanosis, syncope^[Ref]

Nervous system

• Common (1% to 10%): Pain (2.8%), burning sensation (1.4%)
• Uncommon (0.1% to 1%): Vasovagal reaction, tingling in arms, grimace, faintness, headache, taste alterations
• Rare (less than 0.1%): Paresthesia
• Frequency not reported: Dizziness, temporary cortical blindness, temporary amnesia, convulsions, paralysis, coma, depressed level of consciousness or loss of consciousness, restlessness, meningismus, meningitis like reaction, meningitis, agitation, abnormal coordination, involuntary movements, paraplegia, encephalopathy, hypoesthesia, somnolence, numbness, emotional stress, motor seizures, facial neuralgia, drowsiness^[Ref]

Other

• Common (1% to 10%): Hot flashes (1.5%), warmth (1.1%)
• Uncommon (0.1% to 1%): Fever, chills, feeling cold
• Frequency not reported: Tremors, malaise, pain, rigors, shivering, hypothermia, tinnitus^[Ref]

Dermatologic

• Uncommon (0.1% to 1%): Rash, urticaria, pruritus, excessive sweating, erythema
• Very rare (less than 0.01%): Muco-cutaneous syndromes, including Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis (Lyell syndrome), erythema multiforme, inflammation, skin necrosis
• Frequency not reported: Erythematous swelling, facial edema, skin necrosis, bullous eruption, exanthema, skin cold/clammy^[Ref]

Genitourinary

• Uncommon (0.1% to 1%): Urinary retention
• Frequency not reported: Urogenital pain, hematuria, osmotic nephrosis of proximal tubular cells, neurogenic bladder^[Ref]

Musculoskeletal

• Uncommon (0.1% to 1%): Back spasm, back pain
• Rare (less than 0.1%): Muscle spasm
• Frequency not reported: Involuntary leg movement, musculoskeletal pain, musculoskeletal weakness muscle cramps, myalgia, myopathy, backache, neck stiffness, leg sciatic pain, radicular irritation,cold extremities, shoulder pain, leg cramps^[Ref]

Ocular

• Uncommon (0.1% to 1%): Visual disturbances
• Frequency not reported: Periorbital edema, watery itchy eyes, lacrimation, conjunctivitis, conjunctival chemosis with infection, transient blindness, photophobia, mydriasis, oculogyric crisis^[Ref]

Renal

• Uncommon (0.1% to 1%): Acute renal failure
• Frequency not reported: Abnormal renal function, transient changes in hepatorenal chemistry tests^[Ref]

Respiratory

• Uncommon (0.1% to 1%): Throat constriction, dyspnea, pulmonary edema, nasal congestions, asthma, bronchospasm
• Frequency not reported: Increased cough, sneezing, asthma, apnea, laryngeal edema, chest tightness/pain, rhinitis, brachial plexus palsy following axillary artery injections, respiratory arrest, respiratory failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome, Apnea Laryngeal edema, pharyngitis^[Ref]

Endocrine

• Frequency not reported: Thyroid function tests indicative of hypothyroidism or transient thyroid suppression in adults and pediatric patients (including infants)^[Ref]

Hematologic

• Frequency not reported: Neutropenia, thrombocytopenia^[Ref]

Hypersensitivity

• Frequency not reported: Anaphylactoid reaction (characterized by cardiovascular, respiratory and cutaneous symptoms), anaphylaxis reaction^[Ref]

Local

• Frequency not reported: Injection site pain usually due to extravasation, hemorrhage or pseudoaneurysms at the puncture site^[Ref]

Psychiatric

• Frequency not reported: Confusion, paroniria, hallucinations^[Ref]

See also:

Further information

Iopamidol side effects can vary depending on the individual. Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances.

Note: Medication side effects may be underreported. If you are experiencing side effects that are not listed, submit a report to the FDA by following this guide.

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