How safe is an MRI for infants under 1 year-old when contrast fluid and sedation are used?”
It is late, so I am not going to look up statistics on adverse effects from MRI’s on infants. But MRI is relatively safe, safer than x-rays. MRI doesn’t use radiation like x-rays or CT scans do. They use strong magnetic fields and radio waves, which are almost certainly harmless even in enormous doses (unlike x-rays). The contrast fluid is also almost certainly harmless (and they use different contrast agents for MRI than for X-rays). The traditional type of contrast fluid (“gadolinium-based”) may put a strain on patients who have impaired renal function. Those patients might be given dialysis after the MRI. The greater risk is not from the MRI itself but from the sedation. Sedating any infant has some risk. However, there is plenty of medical staff nearby to react immediately should anything go wrong. It is natural to feel anxious about any medical procedure performed on your baby. However, you are certainly aware that not all of that anxiety is always warranted. You don’t mention why
