Incidence of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis at a large university hospital in Sweden.

OBJECTIVE: Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) is a rare condition that may follow administration of gadolinium-based contrast media (Gd-CM) in patients with renal insufficiency. This study was initiated to determine the incidence of NSF at Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, in Sweden.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: During the period January 2001 to December 2008 10 650 patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations. The re-expressed four-variable Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) equation was used to calculate the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). The 272 patients with an eGFR <30 ml/min/1.73 m2 who were given Gd-CM were selected for final analysis. A diagnosis of NSF or other dermatological diagnoses in the 272 patients was searched for in the database of the Departments of Dermatology and Pathology.
RESULTS: The 272 patients, of whom 26 patients were on dialysis, had undergone 406 MRI examinations with Gd-CM. Mean follow-up time was 3.9 (±2.7 SD) years. Assuming a mean body weight of 70 kg, the overall median dose of the 406 examinations with Gd-CM was 0.14 mmol/kg body weight (0.06, 0.34; 2.5-97.5 percentiles). In this retrospective study of patients with eGFR <30 ml/min/1.73 m(2), none developed NSF (the upper 95% confidence limit for zero cases of NSF in the 272 patients was 2.3%).
CONCLUSION: Although it is premature to claim that Gd-CM using the regimen employed in this institution is safe to use in all patients with eGFR <30 ml/min/1.73 m(2), the results.indicate that development of NSF is extremely uncommon.