Bicarb, acetylcysteine during angiography don’t protect kidneys

Periprocedural administration of intravenous sodium bicarbonate did not improve outcomes compared with standard sodium chloride in patients with impaired kidney function undergoing angiography, according to results of a randomized study of 5,177 patients.

In addition, there was no benefit for oral acetylcysteine administration over placebo for mitigating those same postangiography risks, Steven D. Weisbord, MD, said at the American Heart Association scientific sessions in Anaheim, Calif.

Hypothetically, both sodium bicarbonate and acetylcysteine could help prevent acute kidney injury associated with contrast material used during angiography, said Dr. Weisbord of the University of Pittsburgh.

However, multiple studies of the two agents have yielded “inconsistent results … consequently, equipoise exists regarding these interventions, despite their widespread use in clinical practice,” Dr. Weisbord said.

To provide more definitive evidence, Dr. Weisbord and his colleagues conducted PRESERVE, a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial comprising 5,177 patients scheduled for angiography who were at high risk of renal complications. Using a 2-by-2 factorial design, patients were randomized to receive intravenous 1.26% sodium bicarbonate or intravenous 0.9% sodium chloride, and to 5 days of oral acetylcysteine or oral placebo.

They found no significant differences between arms in the study’s composite primary endpoint of death, need for dialysis, or persistent increase in serum creatinine by 50% or more.

That composite endpoint occurred in 4.4% of patients receiving sodium bicarbonate, and similarly in 4.7% of patients receiving sodium chloride.

Likewise, the endpoint occurred in 4.6% of patients in the acetylcysteine group and 4.5% of the placebo group, Dr. Weisbord reported.

The investigators had planned to enroll 7,680 patients, but the sponsor of the trial stopped the study after enrollment of 5,177 based on the results showing no significant benefit of either treatment, he noted.

There are a few reasons why results of PRESERVE might show a lack of benefit for these agents, in contrast to some previous studies suggesting both the treatments might reduce risk of contrast-associated renal complications in high-risk patients.

Notably, “most of these interventions have been underpowered,” Dr. Weisbord noted.

Also, most previous trials used a primary endpoint of increase in blood creatinine level within days of the angiography. By contrast, the primary endpoint of the current study was a composite of serious adverse events “that are recognized sequelae of acute kidney injury,” he added.

Although subsequent investigations could shed new light on the controversy, the findings of PRESERVE support the “strong likelihood that these interventions are not clinically effective” in preventing acute kidney injury or longer-term adverse outcomes after angiography, he concluded.

The PRESERVE results were published simultaneously with Dr. Weisbord’s presentation (N Engl J Med. 2017 Nov 12. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1710933).

The study was supported by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Research and Development and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia. Dr. Weisbord reported receiving personal fees from Durect outside the submitted work.

Periprocedural administration of intravenous sodium bicarbonate did not improve outcomes compared with standard sodium chloride in patients with impaired kidney function undergoing angiography, according to results of a randomized study of 5,177 patients.

In addition, there was no benefit for oral acetylcysteine administration over placebo for mitigating those same postangiography risks, Steven D. Weisbord, MD, said at the American Heart Association scientific sessions in Anaheim, Calif.

Hypothetically, both sodium bicarbonate and acetylcysteine could help prevent acute kidney injury associated with contrast material used during angiography, said Dr. Weisbord of the University of Pittsburgh.

However, multiple studies of the two agents have yielded “inconsistent results … consequently, equipoise exists regarding these interventions, despite their widespread use in clinical practice,” Dr. Weisbord said.

To provide more definitive evidence, Dr. Weisbord and his colleagues conducted PRESERVE, a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial comprising 5,177 patients scheduled for angiography who were at high risk of renal complications. Using a 2-by-2 factorial design, patients were randomized to receive intravenous 1.26% sodium bicarbonate or intravenous 0.9% sodium chloride, and to 5 days of oral acetylcysteine or oral placebo.

They found no significant differences between arms in the study’s composite primary endpoint of death, need for dialysis, or persistent increase in serum creatinine by 50% or more.

That composite endpoint occurred in 4.4% of patients receiving sodium bicarbonate, and similarly in 4.7% of patients receiving sodium chloride.

Likewise, the endpoint occurred in 4.6% of patients in the acetylcysteine group and 4.5% of the placebo group, Dr. Weisbord reported.

The investigators had planned to enroll 7,680 patients, but the sponsor of the trial stopped the study after enrollment of 5,177 based on the results showing no significant benefit of either treatment, he noted.

There are a few reasons why results of PRESERVE might show a lack of benefit for these agents, in contrast to some previous studies suggesting both the treatments might reduce risk of contrast-associated renal complications in high-risk patients.

Notably, “most of these interventions have been underpowered,” Dr. Weisbord noted.

Also, most previous trials used a primary endpoint of increase in blood creatinine level within days of the angiography. By contrast, the primary endpoint of the current study was a composite of serious adverse events “that are recognized sequelae of acute kidney injury,” he added.

Although subsequent investigations could shed new light on the controversy, the findings of PRESERVE support the “strong likelihood that these interventions are not clinically effective” in preventing acute kidney injury or longer-term adverse outcomes after angiography, he concluded.

The PRESERVE results were published simultaneously with Dr. Weisbord’s presentation (N Engl J Med. 2017 Nov 12. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1710933).

The study was supported by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Research and Development and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia. Dr. Weisbord reported receiving personal fees from Durect outside the submitted work.

Periprocedural administration of intravenous sodium bicarbonate did not improve outcomes compared with standard sodium chloride in patients with impaired kidney function undergoing angiography, according to results of a randomized study of 5,177 patients.

In addition, there was no benefit for oral acetylcysteine administration over placebo for mitigating those same postangiography risks, Steven D. Weisbord, MD, said at the American Heart Association scientific sessions in Anaheim, Calif.

Hypothetically, both sodium bicarbonate and acetylcysteine could help prevent acute kidney injury associated with contrast material used during angiography, said Dr. Weisbord of the University of Pittsburgh.

However, multiple studies of the two agents have yielded “inconsistent results … consequently, equipoise exists regarding these interventions, despite their widespread use in clinical practice,” Dr. Weisbord said.

To provide more definitive evidence, Dr. Weisbord and his colleagues conducted PRESERVE, a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial comprising 5,177 patients scheduled for angiography who were at high risk of renal complications. Using a 2-by-2 factorial design, patients were randomized to receive intravenous 1.26% sodium bicarbonate or intravenous 0.9% sodium chloride, and to 5 days of oral acetylcysteine or oral placebo.

They found no significant differences between arms in the study’s composite primary endpoint of death, need for dialysis, or persistent increase in serum creatinine by 50% or more.

That composite endpoint occurred in 4.4% of patients receiving sodium bicarbonate, and similarly in 4.7% of patients receiving sodium chloride.

Likewise, the endpoint occurred in 4.6% of patients in the acetylcysteine group and 4.5% of the placebo group, Dr. Weisbord reported.

The investigators had planned to enroll 7,680 patients, but the sponsor of the trial stopped the study after enrollment of 5,177 based on the results showing no significant benefit of either treatment, he noted.

There are a few reasons why results of PRESERVE might show a lack of benefit for these agents, in contrast to some previous studies suggesting both the treatments might reduce risk of contrast-associated renal complications in high-risk patients.

Notably, “most of these interventions have been underpowered,” Dr. Weisbord noted.

Also, most previous trials used a primary endpoint of increase in blood creatinine level within days of the angiography. By contrast, the primary endpoint of the current study was a composite of serious adverse events “that are recognized sequelae of acute kidney injury,” he added.

Although subsequent investigations could shed new light on the controversy, the findings of PRESERVE support the “strong likelihood that these interventions are not clinically effective” in preventing acute kidney injury or longer-term adverse outcomes after angiography, he concluded.

The PRESERVE results were published simultaneously with Dr. Weisbord’s presentation (N Engl J Med. 2017 Nov 12. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1710933).

The study was supported by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Research and Development and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia. Dr. Weisbord reported receiving personal fees from Durect outside the submitted work.