BACKGROUND Exposure to radiocontrast media may result in acute kidney injury (AKI) or traditionally defined contrast nephropathy (CN), both of which may lead to increased morbidity and mortality. The pathogenesis of both these variants of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) may involve inflammatory mediators that lead to renal impairment. A link between obesity and inflammation has been clearly ...

1383–8. 7. Tepel M, van der Giet M, Schwarzfeld C, Laufer U, Liermann D, Zidek W. Prevention of radiographic-contrast-agent–induced reductions in renal function by acetylcysteine. N Engl J Med 2000;343: 180–4. 8. Durham JD, Caputo C, Dokko J, et al. A randomized controlled trial of N-acetylcysteine to prevent contrast nephropathy in cardiac angiography. Kidney Int 2002;62:2202–7. 9. Allaqaband ...

Drug allergy is one type of adverse reaction to drugs and encompasses a spectrum of hypersensitivity reactions with heterogeneous mechanisms and clinical presentations. A thorough history is essential to the management of drug allergy. Laboratory testing has a very limited role in the management of drug allergy. Graded dose challenges and procedures to induce drug tolerance might be required in...

Acute renal dysfunction after radiocontrast in patients with pre-existing renal impairment is not uncommon and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Isotonic sodium bicarbonate solution was first reported to reduce radiocontrast nephropathy in 2004. This first study was, however; limited by its small sample size and as such, the use of isotonic sodium bicarbonate to prevent ra...

INTRODUCTION Coronary stenting is the primary means of coronary revascularization. There are two basic techniques of stent implantation: stenting with balloon predilatation of stenosis and stenting without predilatation (direct stenting). Limiting the time that a fluoroscope is activated and by appropriately managing the intensity of the applied radiation, the operator limits radiation in the e...

BACKGROUND During cerebral angiography, intracarotid infusion of sodium nitroprusside (SNP), an endothelium-independent nitric oxide donor, fails to increase cerebral blood flow (CBF) of human subjects. A confounding effect of intracranial pathology or that of radiocontrast could not be ruled out in these experiments. The authors hypothesized that, if nitric oxide was a significant regulator of...