Purpose: To compare ioxaglate and iobitridol for percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty (PTRA) as regards thromboembolic complications, the quality of diagnosis, and renal and general safety.
Methods: One hundred and eighty-nine patients were prospectively studied, 98 of whom received ioxaglate, and 91, iobitridol. Twenty-two were secondarily excluded from the evaluation of thromboembolic complications as they did not undergo PTRA.
Results: Two hundred and two PTRAs were performed. The total volumes of contrast medium administered and the procedure durations were the same for each patient. In the ioxaglate group, four dissections (3 stents), one occlusive dissection, and two spasms occurred; in the iobitridol group, there were three dissections (all stented), one occlusive dissection (stented), and two spasms. The final angiograms showed four renal infarctions with ioxaglate (2 of which were in patients who were not anticoagulated), two with iobitridol. No significant difference was seen in the incidence of thromboembolic complications when the PTRA was performed after anticoagulation (n = 150; 3.9% vs 4%, p = 0.78); in the whole population, thromboembolic complications were more frequent in the ioxaglate group but the difference was not significant (5.7% vs 3.7%, p = 0.74). The quality of the diagnosis and the general and renal safety were the same in the two groups.
Conclusion: Regarding the clotting phenomenon, we recorded as many thromboembolic complications with ioxaglate as with iobitridol.