A comparison of sodium bicarbonate infusion versus normal saline infusion and its combination with oral acetazolamide for prevention of contrast-induced nephropathy: a randomized, double-blind trial

Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is commonly encountered. Because the therapy of choice for prevention of CIN is controversial, in this study we compared the preventive efficacy of bicarbonate (Bi) infusion in dextrose water versus normal saline (NLS) infusion alone or in combination with oral acetazolamide (AZ). In a double-blind and randomized clinical trial, all patients undergoing coronary angiography or percutaneous coronary intervention received NLS (NLS group), its combination with AZ (AZ group) or infusion of Bi (Bi group) before the procedures. RIFLE (risk of renal failure, injury to the kidney, failure of kidney function, loss of kidney function, and end-stage renal disease) criteria were used to define CIN-associated acute kidney injury (AKI). The risk of AKI in CIN was significantly lower in the Bi and AZ groups than in the NLS group (P a parts per thousand currency sign 0.04). Comparing pre-treatment and post-treatment values in each group the following results were obtained: serum creatinine (Scr) increased and eGFR decreased significantly in the NLS group (P = 0.04) and in all patients (P = 0.001, P = 0.02, respectively). In addition, serum potassium decreased significantly in the Bi and NLS groups (P a parts per thousand currency sign 0.02). Also, serum Bi increased significantly in the Bi group (P = 0.001) whereas it decreased significantly in the AZ group (P = 0.001). Urinary pH also increased in all groups (P a parts per thousand currency sign 0.04) except the NLS group (P > 0.05). It seems that both Bi and AZ reduce the risk of CIN-related AKI, and close monitoring of serum potassium is needed during bicarbonate infusion.