Big effect
NAC plus hydration slashed contrast-kidney injury risk by 29% in a meta-analysis — but the data comes from clinical patients, not healthy supplement users.
For people undergoing contrast-dye procedures (like CT scans or angiograms), adding NAC to standard hydration meaningfully reduced acute kidney injury — but this is early evidence from a specific clinical population, not a general health recommendation.
A meta-analysis of 671 patients found that combining intravenous or oral NAC with hydration cut the incidence of contrast-associated acute kidney injury from about 15% to 10.6%. That’s a meaningful drop, but the finding applies only to hospitalized patients getting contrast dye — not to healthy people taking NAC preventatively, and the dose used in the studies wasn’t even reported.
Where this fits in the evidence
This is among the first studies we've indexed on N-Acetyl Cysteine for Reduced Contrast-Associated Acute Kidney Injury — treat it as an early signal until more research accumulates.
The study
- Systematic Review
- n = 671
- 2025-11-12
- Frontiers in medicine
This is a plain-language summary of a research finding, not medical advice. Pillser surfaces research signals to help you decide what's worth investigating — always consult a qualified professional before changing what you take.