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Evidence-Based Supplement Research
Evidence-Based Supplement Research

Renal protective effects of vitamin E for drug-induced kidney injury: a meta-analysis.

  • 2025-04-14
  • Frontiers in pharmacology 16
    • Lingfei Meng
    • Shengmao Liu
    • Wenpeng Cui

Study Design

Type
Systematic Review
Methods
Six eligible randomized controlled trials that used vitamin E for the prevention of kidney injury were included; data combined with fixed- or random-effects model

Introduction

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a key clinical condition that has puzzled clinicians for many years since there is currently no efficient drug therapy. Vitamin E is found to exert a vital antioxidant role and can protect the kidney. However, clinical studies that analyze the correlation between vitamin E and AKI are scarce, and no consistent conclusions are reported from current studies. Therefore, this study was performed to evaluate the impact of vitamin E on treating AKI.

Methods

The PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were comprehensively searched on 27 December 2023. Qualified studies were selected following the eligibility criteria. The incidence of AKI, serum creatinine, and urea nitrogen levels after vitamin E treatment were evaluated. Then, the data were combined with a fixed- or random-effects model, depending on the heterogeneity test results.

Results

Six eligible randomized controlled trials that used vitamin E for the prevention of kidney injury were included. According to our pooled analysis, vitamin E elevated eGFR levels [MD: 0.36; 95% CI (0.19, 0.53), p = 0.000], reduced serum creatinine levels [MD: -0.32; 95% CI (-0.48, 0.16), p = 0.000], and effectively inhibited the occurrence of AKI [RR: 0.69; 95% CI (0.49, 0.98), p = 0.036].

Conclusion

Vitamin E elevates eGFR levels, reduces serum creatinine levels, and efficiently suppresses AKI occurrence. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42024499597, identifier CRD42024499597.

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