Does high-dose lovastatin therapy diminish the risk of iodinated contrast induced acute kidney injury? A double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial

Introduction: Contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) is one of the common causes of acute kidney injury. Various studies have been conducted to reduce the risk of CI-AKI. Objectives: In this study, we examined the effectiveness of lovastatin in preventing CI-AKI in patients who required iodinated contrast injection. Patients and Methods: This double-blind clinical trial was conducted on 122 patients scheduled for coronary angiography, abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan, and pulmonary CT angiography. Patients were randomly divided into two groups of receiving lovastatin and placebo. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at baseline and 48 hours after iodinated contrast injection was calculated. Results: The incidence of CI-AKI in all study population was 3.3% (1.6% in lovastatin group, and 5% in placebo group; P = 0.309). A significant difference in the mean changes of eGFR (the differences in the mean of eGFR at the 48 hours after iodinated contrast injection versus baseline) between placebo and lovastatin group was observed (P < 0.001). This finding showed that, after intervention a further decline in the mean of eGFR in the placebo group than the lovastatin group was happened. Conclusion: After iodinated contrast agent administration, in the lovastatin group mean change eGFR was significantly less than the placebo group. This finding indicated that high-dose short-term lovastatin treatment may be effective on CI-AKI prevention.