Preoperative urine neutrophil gelatinase‐associated lipocalin predicts mortality in colorectal cancer patients after laparoscopic surgery: A single‐center study

PURPOSE: To determine the rate of acute kidney injury (AKI) after laparoscopic colorectal cancer (CRC) surgery and the predictive value of urine neutrophil gelatinase‐associated lipocalin (uNGAL) for postoperative AKI and mortality during 3 years of follow‐up. METHODS: A total of 216 CRC patients who had undergone laparoscopic surgery were included in our study. We divided all patients into two groups, including group 1 (n = 31) with postoperative AKI and group 2 (n = 185) without postoperative AKI. Urine NGAL was measured using the ELISA technique. Clinical and laboratory data were collected the day before surgery. Postoperative AKI included events occurring within 7 days of the index operation, and mortality was obtained during 3 years of follow‐up. RESULTS: The ratio of postoperative AKI was 14.35% (31/216 patients). The urine NGAL level in group 1 was significantly higher than in group 2, p < 0.001. At cut‐off value = 14.94 ng/mL, uNGAL has a predictive value for AKI (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.858, p < 0.001). After 3 years of follow‐up, the total mortality rate was 7.9%. The mortality rate in group 1 (45.2%) was significantly higher than in group 2 (1.6%) with p < 0.001). At cut‐off value = 19.85 ng/mL, uNGAL has a predictive value for mortality (AUC = 0.941, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The rate of acute kidney injury after laparoscopic CRC surgery was 14.35%. Preoperative urine NGAL has a good predictive value for postoperative acute kidney injury and mortality during 3 years of follow‐up.