Z. Khoury et al., THE EFFECT OF PROPHYLACTIC NIFEDIPINE ON RENAL-FUNCTION IN PATIENTS ADMINISTERED CONTRAST-MEDIA, Pharmacotherapy, 15(1), 1995, pp. 59-65
Study Objective. To determine if prophylaxis with nifedipine could dec
rease the frequency of contrast medium-induced renal impairment. Desig
n. Prospective, randomized clinical trial. Setting. A university-affil
iated hospital. Patients. Patients undergoing scheduled radiologic exa
minations involving infusion of contrast media. Interventions. Forty-t
wo patients were randomized to receive nifedipine 10 mg orally 1 hour
before the imaging procedure, and 43 to receive no treatment. Measurem
ents and Main Results. Baseline serum creatinine levels were compared
with maximum levels 24 and 48 hours after administration of contrast m
edium. No statistically significant difference was seen in either the
mean change or mean percentage change in serum creatinine between the
control and nifedipine groups. The mean changes in serum creatinine we
re +7.4 mu mol/l in the control group and +2.7 mu mol/L in the nifedip
ine group (p=0.33); the mean percentage changes were +10.2% and +4.8%,
respectively (p=0.54). Conclusion. Regardless of statistical analysis
, it is unlikely that elevations in serum creatinine of this magnitude
(< 0.1 mg/dl) are of clinical significance. We therefore conclude tha
t prophylactic nifedipine is not clinically beneficial in preserving r
enal function in patients receiving contrast medium and that the agent
should not be routinely administered for this purpose.