The effects of repeated intravenous iohexol administration on renal function in healthy beagles – a preliminary report

BACKGROUND: Contrast induced nephrotoxicity (CIN) is a well described syndrome in humans undergoing contrast medium examinations. To date CIN has received minimal attention in the veterinary literature despite increasing use of contrast medium examinations in computed tomographic studies. METHODS: This prospective study evaluated the effect of 1290 mg/kg iohexol given intravenously to 5 normal beagle dogs in a divided dose at an interval of 6–8 weeks. Renal function was evaluated by means of scintigraphically determined glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and a variety of laboratory assays. RESULTS: Only GFR showed a significant decrease (17%) after the second injection but not to a clinically or pathologically significant level. CONCLUSIONS: No clinically significant effect of repeated contrast medium administration was determined in this limited study. However in dogs with reduced renal function the risk of CIN is likely to increase dramatically post contrast administration.