Abstract
Repeated exposure to iodinated contrast media (ICM) may induce thyroid dysfunction but supporting radiological and histological evidence remains limited. This study aimed to evaluate whether repeated ICM administration induces iodine accumulation and related functional and histological changes in the thyroid. This prospective 8-week study involved 30 male New Zealand white rabbits (0.8–1.2 kg, < 1 year) assigned to four groups. The control group (n = 8) received 0.9% sodium chloride solution, while experimental groups received intravenous iohexol three times weekly at 1.6 mL/kg (n = 7), 6.0 mL/kg (n = 7), or 12.0 mL/kg (n = 8). Non-contrast thyroid dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) was performed weekly to quantify iodine accumulation, expressed as the thyroid enhancement ratio (TER) relative to paraspinal muscle. Serum free thyroxine (fT4), free triiodothyronine (fT3), thyroid-stimulating hormone, and creatinine were measured at baseline, week 4, and week 8. Histological analysis was performed at week 8. At week 8, TER was significantly higher in the 6.0 mL/kg (2.59 ± 0.89) and 12.0 mL/kg (2.79 ± 0.77) groups than in controls (1.15 ± 0.42) and the 1.6 mL/kg group (1.32 ± 0.46) (all P < 0.05). While transient fT4 and fT3 elevations occurred and nodular hyperplasia, follicular atrophy, and inflammation were more frequent in high-dose groups, neither showed statistically significant intergroup differences (both P > 0.05). In conclusion, repeated intravenous administration of high-dose ICM in rabbits was associated with increased iodine accumulation in the thyroid gland, as quantified by DECT. However, a transient rise in serum thyroid hormone levels, as well as more frequent histopathological changes, did not reach statistical significance.
Data availability
The datasets generated or analyzed during the study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Abbreviations
- CT:
-
Computed tomography
- DECT:
-
Dual-energy computed tomography
- H&E:
-
Hematoxylin and eosin
- HU:
-
Hounsfield unit
- ICC:
-
Intraclass correlation coefficient
- ICM:
-
Iodinated contrast media
- ROI:
-
Region of interest
- VMI:
-
Virtual monoenergetic imaging
- TER:
-
Thyroid enhancement ratio
- TSH:
-
Thyroid-stimulating hormone
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Funding
This work was supported by Grant No. 0620215500 from Encormac (Seoul, Republic of Korea) and in part by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) (Grant No. RS-2023-00250062).
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S.L. and C.R. designed and led the study. C.R., S.L., and J.K. performed data curation and formal analysis. S.L. acquired funding and provided resources. C.R. drafted the original manuscript, and C.R., S.L., Y.H.C., J.Y.H., and J.E.C. reviewed and edited the final version.
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Seunghyun Lee is a Scientific Reports editorial board member but has no role in the review process or decision to publish this article. All remaining authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
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Rhee, C., Lee, S., Koh, J. et al. Assessment of thyroid iodine accumulation following repeated iodinated contrast media administration using dual-energy computed tomography in a rabbit model. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-37701-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-37701-w
