Oral Nicorandil effectively attenuates the incidence of contrast-induced nephropathy in patients undergoing cardiac catheterization: a randomized, controlled, open-label clinical trial.

PURPOSE: The contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) rate is increasing globally and can increase the rate of mortality and long-term problems. This study aims to determine the effect of Nicorandil on preventing CIN among patients undergoing cardiac catheterization.

METHODS: In a controlled randomized open-labeled clinical trial, all included patients undergoing cardiac catheterization due to coronary problems and possessing at least two risk factors of contrast nephropathy were divided into two groups of intervention and control. The intervention group received oral Nicorandil and normal saline, while the control group was treated with intravenous normal saline. Serum creatinine was measured before and 48 h after the procedure, and patients were assessed regarding CIN.

RESULTS: In this study, 172 patients entered each group; 41.86% and 45.34% were male in the control and Nicorandil groups. We showed that the incidence of CIN was meaningfully lower in the Nicorandil group (12, 7%) than in the control group (34, 19.8%, P = 0.001). Additionally, the incidence of CIN was notably lower in the female patients in the Nicorandil (85.7%) than in the control group (14.3%, P = 0.001); however, these numbers were not significantly different among men (64.0% and 36.0%, respectively, P = 0.850). After the injection of the contrast agent, the serum levels of blood urea nitrogen (P = 0.248), creatinine (P = 0.081), and glomerular filtration rate (P = 0.386) showed no significant differences between the control and Nicorandil groups. Multivariate regression analysis showed that Nicorandil significantly lowered the odds of CIN [odds ratio (OR) = 0.299, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.149-0.602; P = 0.001] after adjustment for baseline creatinine (OR = 1.404, 95% CI 0.431-4.572; P = 0.574).

CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that pre-procedural treatment with Nicorandil may be effective against CIN in contrast to agent-exposed patients.