Abstract
Clinical Pearls
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An 84-year-old male with a history of chronic renal failure secondary to nephrectomy and chronic hypertension was admitted for elective coronary angiography following complaints of midsternal chest pain and an abnormal thallium stress test. The patient was found to have other risk factors for radiographic-contrast-media-induced nephropathy, including hyponatremia and hypoalbuminemia. Mild volume expansion was initiated and acetylcysteine 600 mg was administered orally every 12 hours on the day before the procedure. The patient's baseline serum creatinine was found to be 2 mg/dL.
A total of 125 mL of nonionic, low-osmolality contrast media was infused during the procedure. An additional two doses of acetylcysteine 600 mg were administered on the day of the procedure.
The patient's recovery was uneventful and he was discharged. The postprocedure serum creatinine was stable at 2 mg/dL 48 hours after the procedure. It appears that orally administered acetylcysteine can prevent radiographic-contrast-media-induced nephropathy.
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