Adverse effects of lumbar myelography with amipaque and dimer-X.

The adverse effects in a series of 50 lumbar myelographies with Amipaque were compared with those in a corresponding series, examined with Dimer-X. Side effects occurred in 58% of the cases examined with Amipaque and in 68% of the Dimer-X series. No seizures occurred in 58% of the cases examined with Amipaque and in 68% of the Dimer-X series. No seizures occurred in either series but slight fibrillations of fasciculations appeared in 2 Dimer-X patients. Hyperreflexia of the legs was recorded in 22% of the Amipaque and in 36% of the Dimer-X cases. Other adverse reactions to the media were mild to moderate. Some burst activity, but no definite paroxysmal abnormality was noted in EEG recordings in 2 Amipaque cases. The low epileptogenicity of Amipaque has ensured a wider safety margin of lumbar myelography.