Ventricular fibrillation from diatrizoate with and without chelating agents.

The toxicity of Renografin 76% was compared with that of Hypaque 76% by selective injection of each into the right coronary artery of dogs. Renografin contains the chelating agents sodium citrate and disodium edetate, while Hypaque contains calcium disodium edetate and no sodium citrate. Ventricular fibrillation occurred significantly more often with Renografin, suggesting that chelating agents contribute to toxicity in coronary angiography.