Sodium bicarbonate improves long-term clinical outcomes compared with sodium chloride in patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing an emergent coronary procedure.

BACKGROUND: Contrast-induced nephropathy is associated with increased in-hospital and long-term adverse clinical outcomes. METHODS AND RESULTS: To investigate whether hydration with sodium bicarbonate improves long-term clinical outcomes compared with sodium chloride, patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing an emergent coronary procedure were enrolled in a randomized clinical trial with > or = 1 year of follow-up. The 59 patients with chronic kidney disease (serum creatinine concentration > 1.1 mg/dl or estimated glomerular filtration rate < 60 ml/min) were randomly assigned to receive a 154 mmol/L intravenous infusion of either sodium bicarbonate (n = 30) or sodium chloride (n = 29). The electrolytes were given as a bolus of 3 ml.kg(-1).h(-1) for 1 h before the administration of contrast, followed by an infusion of 1 ml.kg(-1).h(-1) for 6 h during and after the procedure. During a mean follow-up period of 15.9+/-4.5 months, the incidence of renal replacement therapy or death was significantly lower in the sodium bicarbonate group than in the sodium chloride group (3% vs 21%, respectively; p = 0.037). CONCLUSIONS: Hydration with sodium bicarbonate reduces the incidence of renal replacement therapy and death in patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing an emergent coronary procedure.

Comparison of usefulness of sodium bicarbonate versus sodium chloride to prevent contrast-induced nephropathy in patients undergoing an emergent coronary procedure.

In the case of an emergency coronary procedure where the risk of contrast-induced nephropathy is especially high, there are few reliable methods to attenuate renal injury. We examined the efficacy of sodium bicarbonate for the prevention of contrast-induced nephropathy in patients undergoing an emergency coronary procedure. We enrolled 59 patients who were scheduled to undergo an emergency coronary angiography or intervention. These patients were randomized to receive a 154-mEq/L infusion of sodium bicarbonate (n = 30) or sodium chloride (n = 29), as a bolus of 3 ml/kg/hour for 1 hour before the administration of contrast, followed by an infusion of 1 ml/kg/hour for 6 hours during and after the procedure. In the sodium bicarbonate group, serum creatinine concentration remained unchanged within 2 days of contrast administration (1.31 +/- 0.52 to 1.31 +/- 0.59 mg/dl), whereas it increased in the sodium chloride group (1.32 +/- 0.65 to 1.52 +/- 0.92 mg/dl, p = 0.01). The incidence of contrast-induced nephropathy (an increase >0.5 mg/dl or >25% in serum creatinine concentration within 2 days of contrast) was significantly lower in the sodium bicarbonate group than in the sodium chloride group (7% vs 35%, p = 0.01, risk ratio 0.19, 95% confidence interval 0.046 to 0.80). In conclusion, hydration with sodium bicarbonate is more effective than with sodium chloride for the prevention of contrast-induced nephropathy in patients undergoing an emergency coronary procedure.