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Neuroscience For Kids

Transdermal Drug Patches May Burn During MRI
March 23, 2009 mri

Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a public health advisory to warn people that transdermal drug patches with metallic backings may cause burns during a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. Transdermal drug patches release medicine through the skin. However, the backing of these patches has aluminum or other metals that can overheat during a scan and burn the skin. The patches should be removed before a scan to reduce the risk of burning the skin.

The FDA recommends that patients who use medicated patches and will be having an MRI scan to:

mri The FDA is working to identify the drug patches with metal backing. Some of the ones that pose a potential problem are:

For more information, see:

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