Adverse reactions to intravenous contrast media in patients treated with interleukin-2.

Seventy patients consecutively admitted to a single institution were treated with high-dose interleukin-2 (IL-2) and analyzed for determining the incidence and risk factors associated with reactions to i.v. contrast media. Patients with metastatic renal cancer (n = 44) or melanoma (n = 26) received 74 cycles of IL-2 administered at 2 to 6 x 10(6) U/m2/d for 10-21 days either alone or with lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells or tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). Seventy-four computed tomography (CT) scans were performed before administration of IL-2; and 74, 59, and 35 CT scans were performed, respectively, 2, 6, and 10 weeks after administration of IL-2. Of the 168 scans performed after therapy with IL-2, non-ionic media were used in 110 and ionic media were used in 58. There were no reactions before administration of IL-2, but there were nine reactions after therapy with IL-2. Reactions to contrast media occurred 1-4 hours after media infusion and included fever, chills, emesis, diarrhea, rash, wheezing, hypotension, edema, and oliguria. Hospitalization was required in seven cases, including intensive care unit support in four, but all patients recovered fully. Contrast reactions were more frequent 2 weeks after therapy with IL-2 (eight of 74 scans, 11%) compared with 6 weeks after IL-2 (one of 59 scans, 1.7%), but the difference was not statistically significant (McNemar's test). Six patients who reacted to contrast 2 weeks after IL-2 treatment received contrast 4 weeks later: five had no reaction and only one experienced a reaction.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)