Researchers Say Aminophylline Safe For CKD Patients Undergoing Stress Imaging With Regadenoson.

MedPage Today  (9/10, Kaiser) reports, "Aminophylline is safe to use in patients with severe kidney disease undergoing stress imaging with regadenoson (Lexiscan), and it doesn't interfere with the detection of stress-induced ischemia, according to two studies presented" at the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology's annual meeting. "Patients with stage IV or V chronic kidney disease (CKD) who were given aminophylline following the injection of regadenoson for stress SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) did not experience a drop in blood pressure or a rise in heart rate, two common side effects of the vasodilator," researchers reported. "In fact, the rise in systolic (P=0.02) and diastolic (P=0.03) blood pressure between 30 seconds and three minutes post-regadenoson administration was significant, as was the decrease in heart rate (P=0.006) over the same time frame compared with the placebo group," the study found.