Patient guidelines for treatment of symptoms after an injection of contrast medium which has gone subcutaneous at the outside of a blood vessel instead of within the blood vessel

You have been to an examination today, __________/___________, during which contrast fluid would normally be injected into a blood vessel.

The contrast is a non-hazardous medium which, under normal circumstances, will quickly be expelled from your body.

Some of the contrast medium used for the examination has gone subcutaneous under your skin, instead of inside of the blood vessel. This is also called contrast media extravasation. When this happens it produces symptoms such as pain, reddening and swelling of the hand and arm. Normally these symptoms lessen within a few hours but can last between 1-3 days.

The severity of complications generally depends on the amount and type of contrast medium.

You have had approximately _______________ ml of contrast type ______________________ injected into your arm.

Batch number: __________________________________________________.

1. Keep your arm raised e.g. on a pillow. This will help relieve the swelling.

2. Cover the swollen area around the injection site with something cold, e.g. a plastic bag full of ice cubes wrapped in a towel, for about 30 minutes at a time. Repeat this exercise several times a day for 1-3 days.

If the symptoms continue after the above treatment, or if any of the discomfort worsens, it is important that you contact your own general practitioner or the duty doctor and tell him/her about your symtoms as well as information about the contrast injection.