Can continuous venovenous hemofiltration prevent contrast-agent induced nephropathy in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease after coronary angiography?

To determine whether contrast induced nephropathy (CIN) post coronary angio­graphy procedure can be prevented in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients by continuous venovenous hemofiltration (CVVH), we evaluated 98 CKD patients [52 (53.1%) were males, the mean age was 60.7 ± 11.0 years] who underwent coronary angiography from January 2004 to December 2006. Serum creatinine (Cr) before the procedure was 411 ± 79.9 μmol/L and crea­tinine clearance (Cr Cl) was 18.04 ± 4.26 mL/min. All patients underwent post procedure CVVH for 21.34 ± 2.12 hours. The mean time interval between the procedure and the start of CVVH was 44.3 ± 18.8 min. The mean serum Cr at discharge was 403 ± 88.4 μmol/L (Cr Cl 18.5 ± 4.61 mL/min) and was 423 ± 88.9 μmol/L (Cr Cl17.6 ± 4.27 mL/min) 15 days after the procedure. One patient (1.02%) developed worsening of renal functions that required repeated CVVH during hospitalization and ended up on regular hemodialysis. There was no in-hospital mortality. We conclude that CVVH is effective in preventing CIN after coronary angiography in CKD patients.