A rigorous observational study finds no evidence that use of contrast for computed tomography in the emergency department is dangerous for the kidneys.
It is an article of faith in emergency medicine and radiology that the intravenous contrast used for computed tomography (CT) may cause kidney injury. In a retrospective cohort study, investigators at a U.S. academic emergency department (ED) compared the incidence of acute kidney injury among three groups of patients: 7201 who underwent contrast-enhanced CT, 5499 who underwent unenhanced CT, and 5234 who did not undergo CT. Patients met stringent inclusion criteria, including baseline creatinine of 0.4–4.0 mg/dL.
Patients who underwent contrast-enhanced CT were no more likely to develop acute kidney injury than those who underwent unenhanced CT (odds ratio, 1.0) or those who did not undergo CT (OR, 1.0). After controlling for baseline chara…
Reviewing Author
DisclosuresConsultant/Advisory BoardPortola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Speaker’s BureauPeerView Institute for Medical Education
Grant/Research SupportAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality; CDC; NIH–National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences; NIH–National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); NIH–NIAID–Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group; Merck; Pfizer; Boehringer-Ingelheim; Shire; Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Novartis; bioMérieux; Siemens; Rapid Pathogen Screening; Magnolia; Stago; Innovative Biosensors; Molecular Detection, Inc.; Dyax Corp.; Trius Pharmaceuticals
DisclosuresConsultant/Advisory BoardPortola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Speaker’s BureauPeerView Institute for Medical Education
Grant/Research SupportAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality; CDC; NIH–National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences; NIH–National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); NIH–NIAID–Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group; Merck; Pfizer; Boehringer-Ingelheim; Shire; Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Novartis; bioMérieux; Siemens; Rapid Pathogen Screening; Magnolia; Stago; Innovative Biosensors; Molecular Detection, Inc.; Dyax Corp.; Trius Pharmaceuticals