Effect of statin therapy on contrast-induced nephropathy after coronary angiography: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Although the pleiotropic effects of statins are postulated to be renoprotective, clinical studies have demonstrated conflicting results. We undertook a meta-analysis of published trials to evaluate the impact of statin therapy on the incidence of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) in patients undergoing coronary angiography.

METHODS: We searched MEDLINE and EMBASE databases through December 2010 for articles evaluating the effect of statins on the incidence of CIN in patients undergoing coronary angiography. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using random effects modeling.

RESULTS: Three randomized controlled trials involving 770 patients (330 in the statin group and 340 in the control group) and 7 non-randomized studies involving 31,959 patients (11,936 statin-pretreated and 20,023 statin-naïve). The definition of CIN varied somewhat among the studies. Based on the pooled estimate across the 3 randomized controlled trials, statin therapy did not significantly reduce the incidence of CIN compared to control (OR=0.76, 95% CI: 0.41-1.41, p=0.39). No significant heterogeneity was found in the randomized studies (I(2)=0%, p=0.48). The pooled analysis of the non-randomized studies showed a marginally significant benefit associated with statin therapy (OR=0.60, 95% CI: 0.36-1.00, p=0.05). There was significant heterogeneity among the non-randomized studies (I(2)=88%, p<0.00001).

CONCLUSIONS: Our meta-analysis suggests that statin therapy might be associated with a significant reduction in the incidence of CIN in patients undergoing coronary angiography. Further studies are warranted to clarify this issue.