ABSTRACT
Evidence that radiocontrast causes nephrotoxicity was first reported in the medical literature in the 1960s.1,2 Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) as a leading cause of acute renal failure was described with increasing frequency over the next 10 to 15 years, largely due to increasing use of radiocontrast studies in patients who were older and sicker, with attendant comorbidities such as diabetes mellitus, renal failure, cardiac failure, and volume depletion (Figure 2.1).3,4 CIN is currently described as the third commonest cause of hospital-acquired renal failure, accounting for approximately 11% of cases.5 The incidence of CIN reported in the literature has ranged between 1% and 45%, largely depending on the comorbidities of the study population and parameters used to define CIN.6
