Meta-Analysis of Short-Term High Versus Low Doses of Atorvastatin Preventing Contrast-Induced Acute Kidney Injury in Patients Undergoing Coronary Angiography/Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

This study aimed to investigate the impact of different doses of atorvastatin on contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) in patients undergoing coronary angiography (CAG) or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) requiring contrast media by performing a meta-analysis. We searched the PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Wanfang database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and VIP database through April 2014. Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing short-term high-dose atorvastatin with low-dose atorvastatin on CI-AKI were selected. The main outcomes were the change of acute kidney injury markers and the incidence of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN). We combined 14 RCTs consisting of 1,689 patients. Compared with the low-dose atorvastatin, high-dose atorvastatin treatment was associated with a reduction in serum creatinine levels (weighted mean differences [WMD]-0.1mg/dL; 95% CI-0.14 to -0.05). In addition, high-dose atorvastatin treatment was also associated with a lower incidence of CIN (risk ratios 0.41; 95% CI 0.29-0.56). This meta-analysis suggests that short-term high-dose atorvastatin therapy appears to be superior to the low-dose atorvastatin in preventing CI-AKI among patients undergoing CAG/PCI requiring contrast media.