The Effect of Curcumin in Prevention of Contrast Nephropathy Following Coronary Angiography or Angioplasty in CKD Patients

 Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is the most common cause of iatrogenic acute kidney injury, happens more commonly in patients with underlying kidney diseases. It has been shown that oxidative stress is the main mechanism of contrast nephropathy. Curcumin is suggested as an herbal antioxidant agent, thus we decided to assess the effect of curcumin in preventing this complication in patients with underlying chronic kidney disease who need coronary angiography.

 We conducted double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial in 60 moderate to severe CKD patients who underwent coronary angiography or angioplasty. Adjusted dose of Iodixanol was used as contrast agent in all of them. Curcumin or placebo administered orally, 1.5 g daily from 2 days before procedure to 3 days after it. CIN was defined by an increased serum creatinine ≥ 0.3 mg/dL or an increase to ≥ 1.5 times of the baseline within 48 hours after procedure.

CIN occurred in 12 (20%) of patients, 5 (16.7%) in Curcumin group and 7 (23.3%) in placebo group (OR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.18 to 2.36; P > .05). Serum Creatinine was increased after 72 hours of intervention from 1.65 ± 0.26 mg/dL to 1.79 ± 0.33 mg/dL in Curcumin group and from 1.61 ± 0.23 mg/dL to 1.86 ± 0.35 in placebo group. No significant difference was seen between the mean increase of serum creatinine in two groups (difference of 0.006 mg/dL, 95% CI = - 0.06 to 0.08; P > .05). Conclusion. Prophylactic oral Curcumin could not show protective effects on CIN in high-risk patients who have undergone coronary procedures