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Long-term effect of radiocontrast-enhanced computed tomography on the renal function of chronic kidney disease

Il Young Kim1, Soo Bong Lee, Dong Won Lee

  • 1Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Beomeo-ri, Mulgeum-eup, Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do 626-770, South Korea.

Clinical and Experimental Nephrology
|April 12, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Intravenous contrast media in CT scans show no significant long-term impact on kidney function for chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. This finding suggests contrast-enhanced CT is a safer imaging choice for CKD individuals compared to other methods.

Area of Science:

  • Nephrology
  • Radiology
  • Medical Imaging

Background:

  • Intravenous radiocontrast is known to pose a risk of acute kidney injury in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients.
  • However, the long-term renal effects of contrast media in CKD patients remain largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the long-term effects of intravenous radiocontrast used in computed tomography (CT) on renal function in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective review of 176 CKD patients (eGFR <60 ml/min/1.73 m2) who underwent contrast-enhanced CT.
  • Patients were stratified into CKD stage 3 (n=104), CKD stage 4 (n=52), and peritoneal dialysis (PD, n=20) groups.
  • Estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFR) were monitored monthly for up to 8 months post-CT.

Main Results:

  • No significant differences in baseline characteristics (age, sex, diabetes, follow-up duration) were observed between the groups.
  • Overall, there were no significant changes in eGFR before and after CT across all patient groups.
  • Subgroup analysis based on diabetes mellitus (DM) also showed no significant impact of CT contrast on eGFR.

Conclusions:

  • Intravenous contrast media in standard CT scans do not appear to have significant long-term adverse effects on renal function in CKD patients, regardless of diabetes status.
  • Contrast-enhanced CT may be a preferable imaging modality for CKD patients compared to gadolinium-based MRI, which carries a risk of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis.
Abstract

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