Renal Safety of Intravenous Gadolinium-enhanced MRI in Patients Following Liver Transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Intravenous contrast-enhanced imaging is invaluable in diagnosing pathology following liver transplantation. Given the potential risk of contrast nephropathy associated with iodinated computed tomography contrast, alternate contrast modalities need to be examined, especially in the setting of renal insufficiency. The purpose of this study was to examine the renal safety of MRI with gadolinium following liver transplantation. METHODS: The study involved a retrospective analysis of 549 cases of abdominal MRI with low-dose gadobenate dimeglumine in liver transplant recipients at a single center. For each case, serum creatinine values before and after the MRI were compared. In addition, cases were analyzed for the development of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis. RESULTS: Pre-MRI creatinine values ranged from 0.32 to 6.57 mg/dL (median, 1.28 g/dL), with 191 cases having values ≥1.5 mg/dL (median, 1.86 g/dL). A comparison of the pre- and post-MRI creatinine values showed no significant difference, including those patients with pre-MRI values ≥1.5 mg/dL (mean change of -0.04 [95% confidence interval, -0.07 to -0.01; P = 0.004]). No cases of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis were noted. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that, irrespective of baseline renal function, MRI with gadobenate dimeglumine is a nonnephrotoxic imaging modality in liver transplant recipients. Importantly, this intravenous contrast-enhanced imaging modality can be considered in those posttransplant patients who have a contraindication to computed tomography contrast due to renal insufficiency.

Renal safety of intravenous gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging in patients awaiting liver transplantation.

Renal dysfunction in cirrhosis carries a high morbidity and mortality. Given the potential risk of contrast-induced nephropathy associated with iodinated intravenous contrast used in computed tomography (CT), alternate contrast modalities for abdominal imaging in liver transplant candidates need to be examined. The purpose of this study was to examine the renal safety of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with gadolinium in patients awaiting liver transplantation. The study involved a retrospective analysis of 352 patients of abdominal MRI with low-dose gadobenate dimeglumine (MultiHance) (0.05 mmol/kg) in patients with cirrhosis and without renal replacement therapy at a single center during the period from 2007 to 2013. For each case, serum creatinine before and within a few days after the MRI were compared. In addition, the patients were analyzed for the development of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF), a reported complication of gadolinium in chronic kidney disease. The pre-MRI serum creatinine values ranged from 0.36 to 4.86 mg/dL, with 70 patients (20%) having values ≥ 1.5 mg/dL. A comparison of the pre- and post-MRI serum creatinine values did not demonstrate a clinically significant difference (mean change = 0.017 mg/dL; P = 0.38), including those patients with a pre-MRI serum creatinine ≥ 1.5 mg/dL. In addition, no cases of NSF were noted. In conclusion, our findings suggest that MRI with low-dose gadobenate dimeglumine (MultiHance) is a nonnephrotoxic imaging modality in liver transplant candidates, and its use can be cautiously expanded to liver transplant candidates with concomitant renal insufficiency.