Use of gadolinium for carotid artery angiography and stenting in patients with renal insufficiency.

Use of iodinated contrast media (ICM) for angiography can result in contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN). Gadolinium-based contrast media (GCM) have been used in angiography with a goal to reduce the incidence of CIN. We performed a retrospective analysis involving 85 patients with renal insufficiency who underwent 97 carotid artery angiography and stenting (CAAS) procedures with a combination of GCM and ICM. The incidence of peri-procedural death, Q wave myocardial infarction (QWMI), stroke and CIN were recorded. Patients in GCM group had worse preprocedure renal function compared to ICM group. There were no peri-procedural deaths or QWMI in both groups. The incidence of stroke was 2.2% in GCM group and 0% in ICM group. The incidence of CIN were similar in GCM and ICM groups (8.5% vs. 10%, respectively, p NS). However, the predicted risk of CIN was 18.5% for GCM group and 10.4% for ICM group. Use of GCM and ICM combination for CAAS resulted in a 50% reduction in the incidence of predicted CIN risk compared to ICM.