Effect of low-osmolar contrast medium iopromide and iso-osmolar iodixanol on DNA fragmentation in renal tubular cell culture.

Background: Intravascular administration of iodinated contrast media continues to be a common cause of hospital-acquired acute kidney injury. Accumulating evidence suggests that radiocontrast agent-induced nephrotoxicity is associated with increased oxidative stress, which leads to renal tissue damage with DNA fragmentation. We therefore tested whether an iso-osmolar contrast medium (iodixanol) causes less oxidative DNA damage to renal tubular cells than a low-osmolar contrast medium (iopromide).