Improved equations to estimate GFR in Chinese children with chronic kidney disease

[Clinical study on growth impairment induced by oral glucocorticoids based on FGF23/Klotho homeostasis observations]

OBJECTIVES

To observe the correlation between growth impairment induced by long-term oral glucocorticoids (GC) therapy and the ratio of FGF23/Klotho in children with primary nephrotic syndrome (PNS).

METHODS

A prospective study was conducted on 56 children with GC-sensitive PNS who had discontinued GC therapy for more than 3 months and revisited the Department of Pediatrics of the First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine between June 2022 and December 2022. After monitoring qualitative and quantitative urine protein levels upon admission, the children with proteinuria relapse were treated with GC (GC group; n=29), while those without relapse did not receive GC treatment (non-GC group; n=27). In addition, 29 healthy children aged 3 to prepuberty were selected as the control group. Height, bone age, growth rate, and the FGF23/Klotho ratio were compared among the groups. The correlations of the FGF23/Klotho ratio with height, bone age, and growth rate were analyzed.

RESULTS

The FGF23/Klotho ratio in the GC group was significantly higher than that in the non-GC group after 1 month of GC therapy (P<0.05), and the height and bone age growth rates within 6 months were lower than those in the non-GC group (P<0.05). Correlation analysis showed significant negative correlations between the FGF23/Klotho ratio after 1 month of treatment and the growth rates of height and bone age within 6 months in children with PNS (r=-0.356 and -0.436, respectively; P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The disturbance in FGF23/Klotho homeostasis is one of the mechanisms underlying the growth impairment caused by long-term oral GC therapy.

uNGAL Predictive Value for Serum Creatinine Decrease in Critically Ill Children

Acute kidney injury (AKI) occurs frequently in critically ill children, having an incidence of up to 26.9% and is associated with high morbidity and mortality in pediatric intensive care units (PICU). Currently, the decrease in the glomerular filtration rate is calculated using the serum creatinine levels. Nevertheless, there may be a 48 h delay between the renal injury and measurable increase in creatinine. Urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL) has been validated in relation to cardiopulmonary bypass in children, being able to detect AKI before the functional change proven by the rise in serum creatinine. Our aim was to study the utility of using uNGAL in the management of critical pediatric patients admitted to our hospital in a six month period, more specifically, its capacity to predict AKI development, alone and in the association with the renal angina index (RAI). Twenty-eight critically ill children aged from 1 day to 15 years have been included. We found that an increase in uNGAL in day 1 of admission in the PICU was significantly correlated with a decrease in creatinine clearance but not anymore in day 3. However, in our sample uNGAL did not show a significant predictability for AKI development nor the supplementary incorporation of RAI into the prediction model. Therefore, apart from cardiac surgery, the efficacy and utility or uNGAL in the management of critically ill children is still questionable. For the best prediction, we will need to incorporate not only the RAI or other PICU scores, but other biomarkers such as KIM-1, urinary cystatin, and IL 18 in larger samples.