“Can a contrast dye cause damage?”

Yes, contrast, while very safe and vital for diagnosing and treating some disorders, does have certain risks. A patient may have an allergic reaction to contrast, and if the patient has kidney problems, contrast can exacerbate the problem. It's also important to understand that the contrast for a CT scan and an MRI are not the same.

Contrast dye during CT examinations can cause damage to kidneys if someone has renal failure or renal insufficiency. That is to be determined by the patient's evaluation by their primary care physician and lab values that represent how well the kidneys are functioning. The imaging centers across the country are very aware of the effect of contrast in the kidneys when they are doing the imaging studies and will always ask the patient about this. They will either decide to significantly reduce the contrast load to minimize the effect in the kidneys, do the imaging without contrast, or cancel the imaging altogether and get back to the ordering physician to let them know that the patient's kidneys can not take the contrast needed for the study to be diagnostic and adequately useful. Anyone who has kidney insufficiency or failure, or a family member that knows about it, should be an advocate for the patient when they go for a contrasted imaging study anywhere at any time. Hope that helps.