Predictive Value of Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin for Contrast-Induced Acute Kidney Injury After Cardiac Catheterization: A Meta-analysis

The Crucial Question About Contrast-Induced Nephropathy (CIN): Should It Affect Clinical Practice?

The phenomenon of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) and contrast-associated nephropathy (CAN) has been acknowledged for an extensive duration. Recently, there has been a significant rise in research on the topic due to the enhanced availability of imaging investigations. This theory has been thoroughly validated and extensively reported in the scholarly literature. The primary risk factors are chronic kidney disease, diabetes, sepsis, critical illness, circulatory shock, anemia, advanced age, inadequate hydration, and the use of nephrotoxic medications. The principal preventive strategies are the use of iso-osmolar contrast agents and sufficient hydration, which includes the use of intravenous isotonic saline. The administration of N-acetylcysteine has been shown to decrease the occurrence of CIN without impacting outcomes like mortality or the need for dialysis. Recently, a growing number of scholarly studies have contested this phenomenon, or at least, questioned its clinical significance, rendering it primarily a biochemical occurrence. This review aims to evaluate the previously listed studies. Overestimating the possible dangers of post-contrast nephropathy may diminish the sensitivity of imaging tests that may otherwise utilize contrast, so substantially lowering their clinical relevance. This hypothesis is critically significant to science, medicine, and patients, warranting attention despite the necessity for additional research to validate it. The present study demonstrates that the frequency and importance of CIN may be overestimated.

Evaluating biomarkers for contrast-induced nephropathy following coronary interventions: an umbrella review on meta-analyses

BACKGROUND

Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is a form of acute kidney injury (AKI) occurring in patients undergoing cardiac catheterization, such as coronary angiography (CAG) or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Although the conventional criterion for CIN detection involves a rise in creatinine levels within 72 h after contrast media injection, several limitations exist in this definition. Up to now, various meta-analyses have been undertaken to assess the accuracy of different biomarkers of CIN prediction. However, the existing body of research lacks a cohesive overview. To address this gap, a comprehensive umbrella review was necessary to consolidate and summarize the outcomes of prior meta-analyses. This umbrella study aimed to offer a current, evidence-based understanding of the prognostic value of biomarkers in predicting CIN.

METHODS

A systematic search of international databases, including PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, from inception to December 12, 2023, was conducted to identify meta-analyses assessing biomarkers for CIN prediction. Our own meta-analysis was performed by extracting data from the included studies. Sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, and negative likelihood ratio were assessed using Meta-Disc and CMA softwares.

RESULTS

Twelve studies were ultimately included in the umbrella review. The results revealed that neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) exhibited the highest area under the curve (AUC), followed by cystatin-C, urinary kidney injury molecule-1 (uKIM-1), and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) with AUCs of 0.91, 0.89, 0.85, and 0.80, respectively. NGAL also demonstrated the highest positive likelihood ratio [effect size (ES): 6.02, 95% CI 3.86-9.40], followed by cystatin-C, uKIM-1, and BNP [ES: 4.35 (95% CI 2.85-6.65), 3.58 (95% CI 2.75-4.66), and 2.85 (95% CI 2.13-3.82), respectively]. uKIM-1 and cystatin-C had the lowest negative likelihood ratio, followed by NGAL and BNP [ES: 0.25 (95% CI 0.17-0.37), ES: 0.25 (95% CI 0.13-0.50), ES: 0.26 (95% CI 0.17-0.41), and ES: 0.39 (0.28-0.53) respectively]. NGAL emerged as the biomarker with the highest diagnostic odds ratio for CIN, followed by cystatin-C, uKIM-1, BNP, gamma-glutamyl transferase, hypoalbuminemia, contrast media volume to creatinine clearance ratio, preprocedural hyperglycemia, red cell distribution width (RDW), hyperuricemia, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, C-reactive protein (CRP), high-sensitivity CRP, and low hematocrit (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

NGAL demonstrated superior diagnostic performance, exhibiting the highest AUC, positive likelihood ratio, and diagnostic odds ratio among biomarkers for CIN, followed by cystatin-C, and uKIM-1. These findings underscore the potential clinical utility of NGAL, cystatin-C and uKIM-1 in predicting and assessing CIN.

Definition, Staging, and Role of Biomarkers in Acute Kidney Injury in the Context of Cardiovascular Interventions

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequently occurring complication of cardiovascular interventions, and associated with adverse outcomes. Therefore, a clear definition of AKI is of paramount importance to enable timely recognition and treatment. Historically, changes in the serum creatinine and urine output have been used to define AKI, and the criteria have evolved over time with better understanding of the impact of AKI on the outcomes. However, the reliance on serum creatinine for these AKI definitions carries numerous limitations including delayed rise, inability to differentiate between hemodynamics versus structural injury and assay variability to name a few.

NGAL as Biomarker of Clinical and Subclinical Damage of Kidney Function after Coronary Angiography

Contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) is a serious complication after angiographic examinations in cardiology. Diagnosis may be delayed based on standard serum creatinine, and subclinical forms of kidney damage may not be detected at all. In our study, we investigate the clinical use in these directions of a “damage”-type biomarker—neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL). Among patients with a high-risk profile undergoing scheduled coronary angiography and/or angioplasty, plasma NGAL was determined at baseline and at 4th and 24th h after contrast administration. In the CI-AKI group, NGAL increased significantly at the 4th hour (Me 109.3 (IQR 92.1–148.7) ng/mL versus 97.6 (IQR 69.4–127.0) ng/mL, p = 0.006) and at the 24th hour (Me 131.0 (IQR 81.1–240.8) ng/mL, p = 0.008). In patients with subclinical CI-AKI, NGAL also increased significantly at the 4th hour (Me 94.0 (IQR 75.5–148.2) ng/mL, p = 0.002) and reached levels close to those in patients with CI-AKI. Unlike the new biomarker, however, serum creatinine did not change significantly in this group. The diagnostic power of NGAL is extremely good—AUC 0.847 (95% CI: 0.677–1.000; p = 0.001) in CI-AKI and AUC 0.731 (95% CI: 0.539–0.924; p = 0.024) in subclinical CI-AKI. NGAL may be a reliable biomarker for the early diagnosis of clinical and subclinical forms of renal injury after contrast angiographic studies.

THE RISK OF ACUTE KIDNEY INJURY AFTER ELECTIVE VERSUS EMERGENCY CORONARY INTERVENTION

OBJECTIVE

The aim: A serious and common complication after percutaneous coronary intervention is acute kidney injury, which is associated with an increased risk of renal, cardiovascular and even mortality; therefore, early prognosis and identification of patients at higher risk are essential for early initiation of preventive measures. The aim of this study is to predict and compare the risk for the development of CI-AKI in patient with ACS who undergo emergency PCI or elective (i.e. after medical stabilization) PCI by utilizing the sensitivity of serum NGAL as an early and reliable predictor for CI-AK.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Materials and methods: The study include 37 patients with acute coronary syndrome, baseline serum creatinine, complete blood count and pre and two hours post operative serum neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin were measured and all patients underwent percutaneous coronary intervention according to the standard protocol used in Al Najaf Cardiac Center.

RESULTS

Results: This is a Two-Arm study that included a total of 37 patients with acute coronary syndrome aged 38-83 years. Eighteen of them had emergency percutaneous coronary intervention while the remaining 19 had elective percutaneous coronary intervention (after medical stabilization). Elevation of serum neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin level two hours after percutaneous coronary intervention was found to be significantly higher among emergency percutaneous coronary intervention group compared to elective group.

CONCLUSION

Conclusions: Acute coronary syndrome patients are undergoing emergency percutaneous coronary intervention are at an increasing risk for the development of contrast induced acute kidney injury than those undergoing elective percutaneous coronary intervention.

Urinary NGAL, IGFBP-7, and TIMP-2: novel biomarkers to predict contrast medium-induced acute kidney injury in children

Background

Serum creatinine (SCr) is unreliable in detecting acute changes in kidney function. Early recognition of contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) can provide better opportunities for preventive interventions. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the value of the combined detection of urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), insulin-like growth factor binding protein-7 (IGFBP-7), and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2) in the early diagnosis of children with CI-AKI.

Methods

A prospective, single-center clinical trial was performed and included 172 children aged 0–18 years. The dynamic changes of urinary NGAL, IGFBP-7, and TIMP-2 levels in children with intravascular injection of contrast medium were investigated to determine whether they can diagnose CI-AKI early.

Results

CI-AKI occurred in 20 of 137 enrolled patients, and the incidence was 14.59%. In the CI-AKI group, urinary levels of NGAL, IGFBP-7, TIMP-2, and [IGFBP-7]*[TIMP-2] were significantly increased 2 h after angiography and remained at high levels at 6 h. Using a cutoff value of 36.274 ng/mL, the specificity was 70.0%, and the sensitivity was 68.4% for the prediction of CI-AKI, which was excellent for urinary NGAL. When both urinary IGFBP-7 and TIMP-2 were used together, urinary [IGFBP-7]*[TIMP-2] at 0.417(ng/mL)²/1000 was regarded as the cutoff value. The specificity was 80.0%, and the sensitivity was 81.2%.

Conclusions

NGAL, IGFBP-7, and TIMP-2 concentrations in the urine of children after receiving injections of contrast medium increased faster than SCr and had good clinical value for the early diagnosis of CI-AKI in children. The combination of IGFBP-7 and TIMP-2 was better than either analyte alone.

Frontotemporal degeneration genetic risk loci and transcription regulation as a possible mechanistic link to disease risk

The etiology of Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) is not well understood. Genetic studies have established common genetic variants (GVs) that are associated with increased FTD risk. We review previous genome wide association studies (GWAS) of FTD and nominate specific transcriptional regulators as potential key players in the etiology of this disease. A list of GVs associated with FTD was compiled from published GWAS. The regulatory element locus intersection (RELI) tool was used to calculate the enrichment of the overlap between disease risk GVs and the genomic coordinates of data from a collection of >10,000 chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP-seq) experiments. After linkage disequilibrium expansion of the previously reported tag associated GVs, we identified 914 GV at 47 independent risk loci. Using the RELI algorithm, we identified several transcriptional regulators with enriched binding at FTD risk loci (0.05 < corrected P value <1.18 × 10-27), including Tripartite motif-containing 28 (TRIM28) and Chromodomain-Helicase DNA-binding 1 (CHD1) which have previously observed roles in FTD. FTD is a complex disease, and immune dysregulation has been previously implicated as a potential underlying cause. This assessment of established FTD risk loci and analysis of possible function implicates transcriptional dysregulation, and specifically particular transcriptional regulators with known roles in the immune response as important in the genetic etiology of FTD.

Predictive and Prognostic Value of Serum Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin for Contrast-Induced Acute Kidney Injury and Long-Term Clinical Outcomes after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) has been proposed as an early marker for estimating the risk of contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI). However, the predictive value of baseline serum NGAL levels for CI-AKI remains unclear. Serum NGAL was measured before percutaneous coronary intervention in 633 patients with coronary artery disease. The primary clinical endpoints were a composite of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs; cardiac death, myocardial infarction, stroke, and any revascularization). The mean follow-up duration was 29.4 months. Ninety-eight (15.5%) patients developed CI-AKI. Compared with patients without CI-AKI, baseline serum NGAL was higher in patients with CI-AKI (149.6 ± 88.8 ng/mL vs. 138.0 ± 98.6 ng/mL, p = 0.0279), although serum creatinine and estimated glomerular filtration rate were not different between groups. Patients in the highest tertile of baseline serum NGAL showed a significantly higher rate of MACCEs (10.5% vs. 3.8%, p = 0.02). Using the first tertile as a reference, the adjusted hazard ratios for MACCEs in patients in the second and third tertiles of NGAL were 2.151 (confidence interval (CI) 0.82 to 5.59, p = 0.116) and 2.725 (CI 1.05 to 7.05, p = 0.039), respectively. Baseline serum NGAL is a reliable marker for predicting CI-AKI, and high serum NGAL levels are associated with a higher incidence rate of long term MACCEs.

Comprehensive Review of Steroid-Sensitive Nephrotic Syndrome Genetic Risk Loci and Transcriptional Regulation as a Possible Mechanistic Link to Disease Risk

Introduction

The etiology of steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (SSNS) is not well understood. Genetic studies have established common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are associated with increased SSNS disease risk. We review previous genetic association studies of SSNS and nominate particular transcriptional regulators and immune cells as potential key players in the etiology of this disease.

Methods

A list of SNPs associated with SSNS was compiled from published genome wide association and candidate gene studies. The Regulatory Element Locus Intersection (RELI) tool was used to calculate the enrichment of the overlap between disease risk SNPs and the genomic coordinates of data from a collection of >10,000 chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing experiments.

Results

After linkage disequilibrium expansion of the previously reported tag associated SNPs, we identified 192 genetic variants at 8 independent risk loci. Using the Regulatory Element Locus Intersection algorithm, we identified transcriptional regulators with enriched binding at SSNS risk loci (10^-05 < P_corrected < 10^-124), including ZNF530, CIITA, CD74, RFX5, and ZNF425. Many of these regulators have well-described roles in the immune response. RNA polymerase II binding in B cells also demonstrated enriched binding at SSNS risk loci (10^-37<P_corrected<10^-5).

Conclusion

SSNS is a complex disease, and immune dysregulation has been previously implicated as a potential underlying cause. This assessment of established SSNS risk loci and analysis of possible function implicates transcriptional dysregulation, and specifically particular transcriptional regulators with known roles in the immune response, as important in the genetic etiology of SSNS.

The Predictive Value of Urinary Kidney Injury Molecular 1 for the Diagnosis of Contrast-Induced Acute Kidney Injury after Cardiac Catheterization: A Meta-Analysis

Background

Urinary kidney injury molecule 1 (uKIM-1) is a proximal tubular injury biomarker for predicting acute kidney injury (AKI); its prognostic value varies depending on the clinical and population characteristics. However, the predictive value of uKIM-1 for diagnosis of contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) remains unclear.

Method

Medline, Embase, ClinicalTrials.gov, Cochrane Library database, and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were used to identify relevant studies from their inception to November 31, 2019. Studies that met the inclusion criteria were included. Relevant data were extracted to obtain pooled sensitivity (SEN) and specificity (SPE), summary receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC), and area under the ROC (AUC or AUROC). A bivariate mixed-effects regression model was used for data analysis.

Results

A total of 946 patients from 8 eligible studies were included. Across all the studies, the diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) for uKIM-1 level to predict CI-AKI was 19 (95% CI 10–39), with SEN and SPE of 0.84 and 0.78, respectively. The AUROC for uKIM-1 in predicting CI-AKI was 0.88 (95% CI 0.85–0.90). There was a substantial heterogeneity across the studies (I² was 37.73% for the summary sensitivity and 69.31% for the summary specificity).

Conclusion

Urinary KIM-1 has a high predictive value for diagnosis of CI-AKI in patients who have undergone cardiac catheterization.

Serum levels of neutrophil Gelatinase associated Lipocalin (NGAL) predicts hemodialysis after coronary angiography in high risk patients with acute coronary syndrome

Background

Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) following a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is the third most common cause of acute kidney injury (AKI) worldwide. Patients who require hemodialysis secondary to CIN have an elevated mortality rate as high as 55%. The current definition of CIN is based on an elevation of creatinine and decrease in urinary output. Creatinine typically increases 48 h after the contrast exposure, which delays the diagnosis and treatment of CIN. The neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL) has emerged as a sensitive and specific biomarker of renal injury. Limited data exists about the effectiveness of NGAL to predict CIN in high-risk patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) that underwent PCI. The primary aim of this study was to determine the association of serum NGAL levels and the need for hemodialysis after PCI.

Methods

This is a prospective, observational study. NGAL levels were measured using ELISA. Blood samples were obtained within the first 6 h of hospital admission, and 12 and 24 h after contrast exposure from angiography. The primary outcome was the requirement of hemodialysis. The non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test was used to test for differences in median serum levels of NGAL. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was developed to assess the accuracy of NGAL to predict the need for hemodialysis after PCI.

Results

A total of 2875 were screened; however, 45 patients with ACS that underwent PCI were included. All patients were at high risk of developing CIN defined by Mehran score > 11 points. The median (IQR) serum concentration of NGAL was significantly higher in patients that required versus did not require hemodialysis (340 [83–384] vs. 169 [100–210], p = 0.01). Elevated serum levels of NGAL with a cut-off at 6 h post PCI of 281 mg/dL predicted the need for hemodialysis with an area under the curve of 0.86 (95% CI, 0.66–1.00).

Conclusions

In patients with ACS undergoing PCI; and high risk of developing CIN, an elevated serum level of NGAL 6 h after contrast exposure predicts the development of acute kidney injury requiring hemodialysis.

The Current State of the Art in Acute Kidney Injury

Decades of pre-clinical research have revealed biologic pathways that have suggested potential therapies for acute kidney injury (AKI) in experimental models. However, translating these to human AKI has largely yielded disappointing results. Fortunately, recent discoveries in AKI molecular mechanisms are providing new opportunities for early detection and novel interventions. This review identifies technologies that are revealing the exceptionally complex nature of the normal kidney, the remarkable heterogeneity of the AKI syndrome, and the myriad responses of the kidney to AKI. Based on the current state of the art, novel approaches to improve the bench-to-bedside translation of novel discoveries are proposed. These strategies include the use of unbiased approaches to improve our understanding of human AKI, establishment of irrefutable biologic plausibility for proposed biomarkers and therapies, identification of patients at risk for AKI pre-injury using clinical scores and non-invasive biomarkers, initiation of safe, and effective preventive interventions of pre-injury in susceptible patients, identification of patients who may develop AKI post-injury using electronic triggers, clinical scores, and novel biomarkers, employment of sequential biomarkers to initiate appropriate therapies based on knowledge of the underlying pathophysiology, use of new biomarkers as criteria for enrollment in randomized clinical trials, assessing efficacy, and empowering the drug development process, and early initiation of anti-fibrotic therapies. These strategies are immediately actionable and hold tremendous promise for effective bench-to-bedside translation of novel discoveries that will change the current dismal prognosis of human AKI.

Comparison of urine and blood NGAL for early prediction of delayed graft function in adult kidney transplant recipients: a meta-analysis of observational studies

Background

Neutrophil gelatinase-assoicated lipocalin (NGAL) appears to be a promising proximal tubular injury biomarker for early prediction of delayed graft function (DGF) in kidney transplant recipients. However, its predictive values in urine and blood were varied among different studies. Here, we performed the meta-analysis to compare the predictive values of urine NGAL (uNGAL) and blood NGAL (bNGAL) for DGF in adult kidney transplant recipients.

Methods

We systematically searched Medline, Cochrane library and Embase for relevant studies from inception to May 2018. The summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curves, the pooled sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) were used to evaluate the prognostic performance of uNGAL and bNGAL for the identification of DGF.

Results

A total of 1036 patients from 14 eligible studies were included in the analysis. 8 studies focused on NGAL in urine and 6 reported NGAL in serum or plasma. The composite area under the ROC (AUC) for 24 h uNGAL was 0.91 (95% CI, 0.89–0.94) and the overall DOR for 24 h uNGAL was 24.17(95% CI, 9.94–58.75) with a sensitivity of 0.88 (95% CI, 0.75–0.94) and a specificity of 0.81 (95% CI, 0.68–0.89). The composite AUC for 24 h bNGAL was 0.95 (95% CI, 0.93–0.97) and the overall DOR for 24 h bNGAL was 43.11 (95% CI, 16.43–113.12) with a sensitivity of 0.91 (95% CI, 0.81–0.96) and a specificity of 0.86 (95% CI, 0.78–0.92).

Conclusions

Urine and serum/plasma NGAL were valuable biomarkers for early identification of DGF in kidney transplantation. In addition, the bNGAL was superior to uNGAL in early prediction of DGF.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12882-019-1491-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Evaluation of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin and cystatin C as biomarkers of acute kidney injury after ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction treated by percutaneous coronary intervention

BACKGROUND

Two biomarkers of early acute kidney injury-plasmatic neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and cystatin C-are not used in routine clinical practice in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) treated by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) because of a lack of supporting data.

AIMS

To evaluate the predictive value of NGAL and cystatin C regarding the incidence of contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) and clinical outcomes after STEMI in patients treated by primary PCI.

METHODS

Plasmatic NGAL and cystatin C were measured on admission, before any contrast exposure, in 701 unselected patients with STEMI. Associations between biomarker concentrations and incidence of CI-AKI (assessed at 48h), haemodialysis requirement at 1 year and all-cause mortality at 1 year were assessed by logistic regression analyses and receiver operating characteristic area under the curve analysis (c-statistic). Discrimination performance comparison was performed using the DeLong test.

RESULTS

NGAL and cystatin C had mild discrimination regarding CI-AKI, with c-statistics of 0.60 (P=0.001) and 0.60 (P=0.002), respectively. Combining NGAL and cystatin C did not improve their discrimination (c-statistic 0.61; P=0.001). There was no significant difference in discrimination between NGAL, cystatin C and baseline creatinine (P=0.57). Regression analyses showed no independent association between NGAL and CI-AKI, haemodialysis or 1-year mortality. Similarly, cystatin C was not associated with these clinical outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

In this cohort of patients with STEMI treated by primary PCI, plasmatic NGAL and cystatin C did not provide additional value regarding CI-AKI prediction compared with known risk factors such as baseline creatinine.

Serum NGAL and FGF23 may have certain value in early diagnosis of CIN

Aims: This study aimed to assess whether neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) could be reliable biomarkers for early diagnosis of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN).

Methods: 202 patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were included in the research. All subjects were divided into CIN group and non-CIN group. Serum NGAL and FGF23 were evaluated before and 0, 1, and 2 days after PCI. Serum levels of these two markers were compared intra-group and among groups. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis and logistic regression models were conducted to assess the diagnostic performance of NGAL and FGF23 in detecting CIN.

Results: When compared with baseline values, serum levels of both NGAL and FGF23 in all subjects increased after PCI, and the values peaked 1 day after PCI, but the changing was greater in CIN group. There were obvious differences between two groups in serum NGAL after 1, 2 days, and similar differences present in serum FGF23 after 1 day. ROC analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) of relative values (percent change from the baseline) in NGAL after 1 day was 0.899 (95% CI: 0.834–0.964, p = .000), the optimum cutoff was 49% (sensitivity = 80%, specificity = 92.4%). And the AUC in FGF23 was 0.814 (95% CI: 0.733–0.894, p = .000), the optimum cutoff was 20% (sensitivity = 73.3%, specificity = 87.6%). Both serum NGAL and serum FGF23 could improve the clinical models in identifying CIN.

Conclusions: NGAL and FGF23 may have certain value in early diagnosis of CIN.

Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin as predictor of acute kidney injury in neonates with perinatal asphyxia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

There is growing evidence that neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is a promising biomarker of acute kidney injury. The objective of this meta-analysis is to determine the accuracy of serum and urinary NGAL in the detection of acute kidney injury in neonates with perinatal asphyxia. Medline (1966-2018), Scopus (2004-2018), EMBASE (1980-2018), Clinicaltrials.gov (2008-2018), and Google Scholar (2004-2018) databases, along with the reference lists of the electronically retrieved articles, were systematically searched. Eleven studies were included, with a total number of 652 neonates. The summary sensitivity of serum NGAL was 0.818 (95% CI [0.668, 0.909]), the specificity 0.870 (95% CI [0.754, 0.936]), and the area under the curve 0.912. Regarding urinary NGAL, pooled sensitivity was calculated at 0.897 (95% CI [0.829, 0.940]), specificity at 0.729 (95% CI [0.561, 0.850]), and area under the curve at 0.899.

CONCLUSION

Serum and urinary NGAL represent candidate biomarkers with high performance in the prediction of acute kidney injury in newborns with perinatal asphyxia. Before NGAL can be widely used in clinical practice, future large prospective studies are needed to define the optimal cutoffs and accurately determine which levels are suggestive of post-asphyxial acute kidney injury. What is Known: • Acute kidney injury is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in perinatal asphyxia. • Current markers are insufficient in predicting post-asphyxial acute kidney injury. What is New: • Area under the curve for serum and urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin is 0.818 and 0.899, respectively. • Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin is a useful marker for detecting asphyxiated neonates at risk of developing acute kidney injury.

Biomarkers for Early Detection of Acute Kidney Injury

BACKGROUND

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common in hospitalized patients and is associated with increased morbidity, mortality, and cost. Currently, AKI is diagnosed after symptoms manifest; available diagnostic tests (e.g., serum creatinine, urine microscopy, urine output) have limited ability to identify subclinical AKI. Because of the lack of treatment strategies, AKI typically is managed with supportive measures. However, strategies exist that may prevent renal insults in critically ill patients; therefore, early recognition of AKI is crucial for minimizing damage propagation.

CONTENT

Experimental and clinical studies have identified biomarkers that may facilitate earlier recognition of AKI or even identify patients at risk of AKI. Such biomarkers might aid in earlier implementation of preventive strategies to slow disease progression and potentially improve outcomes. This review describes some of the most promising novel biomarkers of AKI, including neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), kidney injury molecule 1 (KIM-1), interleukin 18 (lL-18), liver-type fatty-acid-binding protein (L-FABP), insulin-like-growth-factor-binding protein 7 (IGFBP7), and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 2 (TIMP-2).

SUMMARY

We discuss biomarker test characteristics, their strengths and weaknesses, and future directions of their clinical implementation.

Pediatric acute kidney injury: prevalence, impact and management challenges

The incidence of pediatric acute kidney injury (AKI) is increasing globally, as are the associated morbidities and mortality. A recent standardization of the definition of AKI has allowed for a more accurate assessment of the epidemiology of pediatric AKI. Recent advances in leveraging electronic medical health record systems have allowed for real-time risk stratification and prevention of pediatric AKI in the hospital setting. Newly developed and validated clinical scores have improved our ability to predict AKI and provide a rational context for biomarker utilization in hospitalized children. Novel non-invasive diagnostic and predictive biomarkers have been launched globally to improve our ability to diagnose and predict AKI and its adverse outcomes as well as recovery. This review summarizes the most current literature, focusing on the epidemiology, management, and early diagnostic strategies in pediatric AKI.

Risk Stratification for Acute Kidney Injury: Are Biomarkers Enough?

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common and serious complication that is associated with several adverse outcomes in hospitalized patients. AKI significantly increases the risk of mortality, need for renal replacement therapy, and intensive care admission, and it also has serious economic ramifications. Effective risk stratification to identify patients at risk for severe AKI is essential for targeting our health care and research resources to tackle this important public health issue. The overwhelming majority of research in earlier diagnosis and risk stratification of AKI over the past 10 years has focused on novel biomarker development. The purpose of this review is to provide an update on other novel risk stratification tools than can be used in the prognostication of AKI. We discuss the utility of the furosemide stress test in predicting the severity of AKI and the renal angina index in predicting the occurrence of AKI. We also discuss NephroCheck, a prognostic test that measures tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 and insulin-like growth factor binding protein 7 for the early detection of severe AKI.