Prevention of contrast-induced acute kidney injury in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention

Intravascular administration of contrast media is an irreplaceable step of percutaneous coronary intervention. Since the latter is a very common procedure, contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) has become one of the most frequent causes of acute nephropathy, and a relevant prognostic impact of CI-AKI has been observed. Some patient comorbidities and procedural characteristics have been identified as key risk factors of CI-AKI. In this review, we discuss current evidence and future research directions on CI-AKI prevention in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.