Cognitive and affective changes after myelography: a comparison of metrizamide and iohexol.

A battery of brief cognitive tests and a mood scale were administered to 42 patients before and after cervical myelography with either metrizamide (20 patients) or iohexol (22 patients). The patients receiving metrizamide experienced a deterioration in mood after myelography and a relatively greater decline in cognitive test performance than did those receiving iohexol. These two side effects tended to occur together in the metrizamide group, suggesting a common underlying cause; but there was no correlation between changes in mood and cognitive function after myelography with iohexol. These results suggest that metrizamide has a greater neurotoxic effect than iohexol.