Removal of contrast media by different extracorporeal treatments

Background. Although the capability of extracorporeal treatments after administration of contrast media to prevent radiocontrast‐induced nephropathy is controversial, haemodialysis is performed in many institutions after radiographic procedures. There are conflicting reports on the efficacy of different dialysers and treatment modalities to remove contrast media. Methods. We compared the contrast medium‐removing ability of different extracorporeal treatments in a randomized trial. Thirty‐nine patients on chronic renal‐replacement therapy or with chronic renal failure were randomized to receive low‐flux haemodialysis (Low‐HD, n=10), high‐flux haemodialysis (High‐HD, n=10), online haemodiafiltration (HDF, 10 litre substitution, n=10) and online haemofiltration (HF, 18 litre substitution, n=9) after administration of contrast medium during routine radiological procedures. Plasma concentrations of contrast medium (iopromide or iomeprol) were measured by energy‐dispersive X‐ray fluorescence analysis. Results. The extraction ratio for contrast media was 0.64±0.1 for Low HD (P