Is Iodixanol safe while breastfeeding?
Here is what LactMed, the Drugs and Lactation Database published by the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), reports about Iodixanol. The text below is quoted from that source — it is not our own verdict.
Summary of use during breastfeeding
Intravenous iodinated contrast media are poorly excreted into breastmilk and poorly absorbed orally so they are not likely to reach the bloodstream of the infant or cause any adverse effects in breastfed infants. One report of very small amounts of iodine from iodixanol in breastmilk supports this generalization. Guidelines developed by several professional organizations state that breastfeeding need not be disrupted after a nursing mother receives an iodine-containing contrast medium.[1-4]
Effects on the breastfed infant
Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Effects on milk supply
Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Levels in milk
Maternal Levels. A mother was given 100 mL of iodixanol (containing 320 mg of iodine per mL) intravenously immediately postpartum for diagnosis of severe abdominal pain. She was found to have a hematoma resulting in acute tubular necrosis with a serum creatinine of 2.5 mg/dL (222 micromoles/L). Breastmilk samples taken on days 1 and 4 postpartum contained 55 and 28 mg/L of iodine, respectively. The authors calculated that the infant would receive 0.017% of the total administered maternal dose of iodine on day 1 and 0.05% on day 4 postpartum.[5] However, these values could be somewhat different in a patient with normal kidney function.
Infant Levels. Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Alternatives LactMed lists
“No published information” means the studies do not exist yet — not that Iodixanol is known to be harmful, and not that it is known to be safe. Your prescriber or pharmacist can weigh your baby's age and whether a better-studied alternative would do the same job. Worth asking before stopping a medicine you need.
Source: Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), via NCBI Bookshelf, record “Iodixanol” (LM524). LactMed on NCBI Bookshelf. LactMed is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Educational summary of an authoritative source — not medical advice. Never start, stop, or change a medicine while breastfeeding without confirming with your doctor.