Title:Imaging in Drug Side Effects
Volume: 11
Author(s): Sandra Baleato-González, Roberto García-Figueiras, María A. Casais, Amadeo A. Díaz, Iván Sanz-Falque and Joan C. Vilanova
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Drugs, Medical Imaging, side effects.
Abstract: Drug side effects are common in clinical practice and its diagnosis and radiologic manifestations
are not always evident or known. Adverse effects may cause medical complications and negatively
affect prognosis and outcome of patients. In this setting, an early diagnosis might have relevant
clinical and therapeutic implications. Different studies have shown that adverse drug reactions related
hospital admissions comprise up to 10% of the total number of hospitalizations and are an important
cause of morbidity and mortality in adults. Most adverse drugs reactions have no distinctive radiological
features. However, certain iatrogenic disorders have distinctive imaging characteristics that allow their recognition.
We illustrate the imaging findings of drugs side effects and review those complications that radiologists may diagnose.