Simple score predicts risk of contrast-associated acute kidney injury after PCI

Description

A risk score based on readily available variables from patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) accurately predicted the risk of contrast-associated acute kidney injury (CA-AKI) in a modeling study.

Drs. Estelle Nijssen and Joachim Wildberger of Maastricht University Medial Centre in the Netherlands, coauthors of a related editorial, commented in an email to Reuters Health, "What is intriguing is that the risk score appears to highlight the importance of the heart for risk assessment in the setting of contrast procedures, where the focus previously lay on the kidneys and contrast material. This is a major paradigm shift."