The relationship between pre-procedural elevated arterial lactate and contrast-induced nephropathy following primary...

Risk stratification has been one of the main steps in preventing contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN), which is a common complication after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Elevated arterial lactate is a biomarker indicating severe disease condition and post-intervention complications. The relationship between lactate and CIN has not been established. This study is performed to investigate the relationship between elevated arterial lactate level and contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN).

Patients diagnosed with ST-segment elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI) were prospectively enrolled, with lactate measured within 0.5-1 hours before primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Patients with cardiopulmonary resuscitation, any forms of severe anaerobic condition, or end-stage renal disease undergoing dialysis were excluded. CIN was defined as an increase in serum creatinine ≥0.5 mg/dL or 25% within 72 hours after PCI. The Mehran Risk Score (MRS) is widely regarded as a classic risk model for CIN and the risk factors of MRS were applied in our multivariate regression analysis.

Of the 227 enrolled patients, 47 (20.7%) developed CIN according to the definition. The mean lactate level was higher in the CIN group than in the non-CIN group (2.68±2.27 vs. 1.74±1.94, P<0.001). The arterial lactate level ≥2.0 mmol/L had 57.5% sensitivity and 75.6% specificity in predicting CIN. The performance of the lactate level in discriminating CIN was similar to that of the MRS (AUC_lac =0.707 vs. AUC_MRS =0.697, P=0.86). After adjusting for other risk factors, lactate ≥2.0 mmol/L still significantly predicted CIN (odds ratio =3.77, 95% CI, 1.77-7.99, P=0.001).

An arterial lactate level of ≥2.0 mmol/L is associated with CIN in STEMI patients after primary PCI.