Incidence of acute kidney injury in patients with acute ischaemic stroke undergoing CT angiography (CTA) and CT perfusion (CTP): a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients undergoing CT angiography (CTA) and CT perfusion (CTP) for acute ischaemic stroke (AIS).

Concerns over contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) often lead medical centres to mandate pre-imaging serum creatinine level assessments, causing unnecessary delays.

We aim to confirm further the practice of conducting CTA/CTP without first testing creatinine.

METHODS: We searched PubMed, Cochrane Central and Scopus from inception until March 2023 for studies reporting on AKI in patients with AIS receiving CTA/CTP.

Outcomes of interest were (1) the odds of AKI in patients receiving CTA/CTP versus non-contrast CT and (2) the overall incidence of AKI and haemodialysis in patients with AIS undergoing CTA/CTP.

RESULTS: Results were pooled using a random effects model.

13 studies were included (5 cohort and 8 single-arm studies) with 5104 patients in total, out of which 4347 patients received CTA/CTP and 757 patients received no contrast.

In case–control studies, 4.8% (OR=0.66, 95% CI 0.35 to 1.22, Z=1.32, p=0.19) of patients who received CTA/CTP developed AKI, compared with 7.7% of patients in the control group.

Temporary haemodialysis was required for two patients in the analysed studies.

CONCLUSIONS: Non-randomised evidence suggests that CTA/CTP is not associated with a statistically significant increase in the risk of AKI in patients with stroke.

Further well-designed prospective studies are required to explore potential risk factors of CIN in specific patient populations such as diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease.