Short term high dose atorvastatin for the prevention of contrast-induced nephropathy in patients undergoing computed tomography angiography

Background: statins are shown effective by some studies in preventing contrast-induced nephropathy (cin). we evaluated the effectiveness of atorvastatin in the prevention of cin in computed tomography angiography (cta) candidates. methods: this study was conducted on patients referring for elective cta with normal renal function. patients received atorvastatin (80 mg/day) or placebo from 24 h before to 48 h after administration of the contrast material. serum creatinine was measured before and 48 h after contrast material injection. cin was defined as an increase in serum creatinine level of ≥ 0.5 mg/dl or ≥ 25% of the baseline creatinine. results: a total of 236 patients completed the study; 115 atorvastatin, 121 placebo, mean age = 58.40 ± 9.80 year, 68.6% male. serum creatinine increased after contrast material injection in both the atorvastatin (1.00 ± 0.16-1.02 ± 0.15 mg/dl, p = 0.017) and placebo groups (1.03 ± 0.17-1.08 ± 0.18 mg/dl, p < 0.001). controlling for age, gender, comorbidities, drug history, and baseline serum creatinine level, patients who received atorvastatin experienced less increase in serum creatinine after contrast material injection (beta = 0.127, p = 0.034). however, there was no difference between the atorvastatin and placebo groups in the incidence of cin (4.3 vs. 5.0%, p = 0.535). conclusion: in patients undergoing cta, a short-term treatment with high dose atorvastatin is effective in preventing contrast-induced renal dysfunction, in terms of less increase in serum creatinine level after contrast material injection. further trials including larger sample of patients and longer follow-ups are warranted.