Perceptions of the nursing staff regarding the safety of elderly patients in the cardiac computed tomography with contrast

Descriptive study, with qualitative approach, in order to understand the perception of the nursing staff regarding the safety of elderly patients in the administration of iodinated contrast media, conducted at the diagnostic imaging centers of two private hospitals, located in Brasília, Federal District, Brazil. Data were collected by technical interview of eleven participants, between July and August 2012. The analysis and processing of the data were made by means of the method of content analysis, bringing out the safety category of the elderly in the realization of cardiac computed tomography - coronarian angiography. The nursing staff understood that the safety of the elderly in the exam is associated with the ability to assess risks for adverse events related to the administration of the radiopharmaceutical, in which processes, technologies and human interactions intertwine, implying in safe practices.

Immediate adverse reactions to intravenous iodinated contrast media in computed tomography

This exploratory-descriptive, non-experimental quantitative research aimed to learn about immediate adverse reactions to intravenous iodinated contrast media in hospitalized patients submitted to computed tomography at a teaching hospital in the South of Brazil. During the study period, all adverse reactions showed mild intensity, at a frequency of 12.5% with ionic iodinated contrast media, and 1% with non-ionic contrast agent. The extravasation of contrast occurred in 2.2% of the injections in a peripheral vein without complications in any of the cases. The results are within the limits cited in international literature and suggest that tomography service professionals should know their own rates of adverse reactions to iodinated contrast agent, as well as the conditions in which they occur, in order to obtain evidence to evaluate the respective care delivery processes.