Efficacy of vitamin E and N-acetylcysteine in the prevention of contrast induced kidney injury in patients with chronic kidney disease: a double blind, randomized controlled trial

Background Contrast induced acute kidney injury is one of the most frequent causes of hospital acquired acute kidney injury. The present study aims to investigate the efficacy of vitamin E or N-acetylcysteine as an adjunct to current standard therapy in the prevention of this clinical predicament. We tested the hypothesis that vitamin E or N-acetylcysteine added to standard therapy with 0.45 % saline is superior in preserving renal function in patients with chronic kidney disease stage 1–4 undergoing elective computer-assisted tomography with nonionic radiocontrast agents when compared to 0.45 % saline alone.