The National Kidney Foundation publishes kidney disease outcome guidelines for improving care of the chronic kidney disease (CKD) patient. Regarding hemodialysis vascular access, the recommendation is for early placement of an arteriovenous fistula (AVF) to improve morbidity and mortality outcomes, specifically when the glomerular filtration rate is less than 25ml/min, corresponding to stage 4 and 5 CKD. Despite its advantages, the need for surveillance of the AVF to determine maturation for use and maintain optimal longevity requires the use of interventional procedures. While radiocontrast use can lead to acute, often reversible kidney injury, its use in AVF evaluation has renewed interest with the recent implication of gadolinium-enhanced MRI being associated with a rare disorder of skin swelling and induration called nephrogenic systemic fibrosis. CKD patients are particularly susceptible to long term adverse outcomes from contrast-induced kidney injury, with 1 year mortality in stage 4 and 5 CKD patients being 44% and 62%, respectively. While optimal fluid therapy to prevent contrast-induced kidney injury remains uncertain, several prospective randomized trials using sodium bicarbonate pretreatment have shown a lower incidence of contrast-related kidney injury compared to isotonic saline. Traditional markers of acute kidney injury, including serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, and creatinine clearance have been insensitive in differentiating contrast-induced kidney injury from other forms of renal injury. Kidney injury marker-1 (KIM-1) is a transmembrane receptor induced to very high levels in the proximal tubule of the nephron following ischemic and nephrotoxic injury. KIM-1 has been shown in a small cohort of patients to differentiate ischemic kidney injury from other forms of acute and chronic kidney disease.
