Podcast # 420: CT Contrast and the Kidneys

Author: Don Stader, MD

Educational Pearls:

• Recent meta-analysis has demonstrated that there is no significant risk for kidney injury from CT contrast
• Most kidney injury seen after contrast CTs were due to other underlying illnesses (sepsis, hypovolemia, etc.)
• Older contrast agents likely did have nephrotoxic effects but this appears to be a thing of the past

References:

Aycock RD, Westafer LM, Boxen JL, Majlesi N, Schoenfeld EM, Bannuru RR. Acute Kidney Injury After Computed Tomography: A Meta-analysis. Ann Emerg Med. 2018 Jan;71(1):44-53.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2017.06.041. Epub 2017 Aug 12. Review. PubMed PMID: 28811122.

Summarized by Travis Barlock, MS4 | Edited by Erik Verzemnieks, MD