NGAL as a Predictor of Kidney Injury in Kids After Heart Surgery
Author Information
Author(s): Catherine L Dent, Ming Ma, Sudha Dastrala, Michael Bennett, Mark M Mitsnefes, Jonathan Barasch, Prasad Devarajan
Primary Institution: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Hypothesis
Can plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) predict acute kidney injury (AKI) after pediatric cardiac surgery?
Conclusion
Plasma NGAL is an early predictive biomarker of AKI, morbidity, and mortality after pediatric cardiopulmonary bypass.
Supporting Evidence
- AKI developed in 45 patients (37%) within 3 days after surgery.
- Plasma NGAL levels increased threefold within 2 hours after surgery.
- The 2-hour plasma NGAL measurement had an area under the curve of 0.96 for predicting AKI.
Takeaway
Doctors can use a quick test to check a substance called NGAL in the blood to see if kids might get sick kidneys after heart surgery.
Methodology
A prospective uncontrolled cohort study measuring plasma NGAL in children undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass.
Potential Biases
Potential confounding variables such as inotrope support and complexity of surgery were not considered.
Limitations
The study is a single-center uncontrolled cohort study and results may not be generalizable to adults or other populations.
Participant Demographics
Children undergoing elective cardiopulmonary bypass for congenital heart defects.
Statistical Information
P-Value
<0.0001
Confidence Interval
95% confidence interval 0.94 to 0.99
Statistical Significance
p<0.0001
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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