Impact of a continuous quality improvement program on contrast-induced nephropathy in outpatients with chronic kidney disease: an interrupted time-series study

Background Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) caused by exposure to radioactive contrast media can cause acute kidney injury in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We developed a multifaceted approach in a CIN-quality improvement (QI) program based on a shorter saline hydration protocol for the prevention of CIN in outpatients and assessed the effect of our CIN-QI program on decreasing both the incidence rate of CIN and overall use of contrast agents in patients undergoing contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT). Methods We conducted a multi-center prospective interrupted time-series study from 2006 to 2018 investigating the efficacy of a CIN-QI program in preventing CIN among outpatients with CKD. An automatic medical record system alert was implemented to instruct physicians to consult a nephrologist and administer prophylactic hydration and follow-up when ordering contrast-enhanced imaging in patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <45 mL/min/1.73 m(2). The primary outcomes were the rates of prophylactic hydration and follow-up kidney function assessment, and the incidence of CIN for eligible patients. The usage rate of contrast-enhanced CT was also examined. Results A total of 95 594 patients who underwent contrast-enhanced CT were included in the study. The annual prophylactic hydration rate before the CIN-QI program ranged from 2.0% to 23.2% but increased to 59.2%-75.2% during the CIN-QI program (P < .001). The annual rate of follow-up kidney function testing also improved from 18.6%-25.8% to 34.1%-42.5% after implementation of the CIN-QI program (P < .001). The rate of CIN significantly declined in level by 10.0% at the start of the CIN-QI program (P = .002) and in trend by 2.9%/year (P < .001). The number of contrast-enhanced CT orders showed a positive level change in patients with advanced CKD, who were the CIN-QI program target group of patients with eGFR <45 mL/min/1.73 m(2), at the start of the implementation of the CIN-QI program. After implementing the CIN-QI program, the number of contrast-enhanced CT orders showed a negative trend change across all patients, which decreased from -1.4%/year to -10.0%/year for patients with advanced CKD. Conclusion The multifaceted approach in the CIN-QI program may be associated with the decreased incidence of CIN and increased rates of prophylactic hydration and follow-up kidney function testing.