Contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) is a significant iatrogenic complication of contrast media use associated with prolonged hospitalization, cardiovascular events, persistent kidney damage and increased risk of all-cause mortality. When remote ischemic preconditioning is applied before percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), the kidneys can be protected against ischemia-reperfusion injury and subsequently CI-AKI. In this randomised controlled trial, diabetic nephropathy patients undergoing PCI as part of their assessment and treatment of cardiovascular disease are randomized to receive RIPC or control sham preconditioning.

Contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) is a significant iatrogenic complication of contrast media use associated with prolonged hospitalization, cardiovascular events, persistent kidney damage and increased risk of all-cause mortality. Diabetes with pre-existing renal disease can increase the risk of CI-AKI. Remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) is a non-pharmacological strategy inducing transient episodes of ischemia by the occlusion of blood flow in non-target tissue such as a limb, before a subsequent prolonged ischemia-reperfusion injury occurs in a more distant organ. These brief, repeated ischemic episodes in the limb can confer a protection at more remote sites such as the heart, brain, lung, kidney, intestine or skeletal muscle. In a recent pilot study, using RIPC prior to coronary angiography in high risk patients with moderate chronic kidney disease, the authors found that RIPC significantly reduced the incidence of CI-AKI (Er et al Circulation. 2012;126(3),296). We hypothesized that RIPC would be protective as an adjunctive therapy in reducing the incidence of CI-AKI in diabetics with pre-existing CKD. This prospective study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of RIPC for the prevention of CI-AKI among diabetic nephropathy patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Informed written consent
• All of the following:
• Known diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes
• NSTEMI, unstable or stable angina
• Patients undergoing elective coronary angiography and/or percutaneous coronary intervention
• eGFR < 60 mls/min or ACR > 300 mg/dl

Exclusion Criteria:

• STEMI
• decompensated heart failure in the preceding 6 months
• patients with underlying end stage renal disease on maintenance dialysis
• recent (in the last 3 months) cerebrovascular disease
• chronic liver disease
• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• gastrointestinal bleeding
• acute or chronic infection or malignancy