The Role of Calcium Antagonists in the Management of Renal Warm Ischemia

Abstract

Eighty dogs with solitary kidneys were used to investigate the effects of calcium antagonists on the functional capacity and structural integrity of kidneys subjected to sixty minutes of warm ischemia by transient vascular occlusion under general anesthesia. Treated dogs were compared with control animals who had normal or untreated ischemic kidneys (group 1 and 2) and also with saline-flushed ischemic kidneys without or with heparinization (group 3 and 4).Verapamil and nicardipine were used independently as local (group 5 and 7) or systemic treatment (group 6 and 8).Functional and structural studies revealed that calcium antagonists improved animal survival, renal hemodynamics, renal functional capacity, cellular adenine nucleotides, and reduced the ischemic structural damage. Local treatment of ischemic kidneys with 0.15mg. nicardipine afforded the best protection against the deleterious effects of renal warm ischemia.