Evaluation value of neutrophil gelatinase‐associated lipocalin for the renal dysfunction of patients with chronic kidney disease: A meta‐analysis

OBJECTIVE: The role of neutrophil gelatinase‐associated lipocalin (NGAL) for the evaluation of renal function in chronic kidney disease (CKD) has not yet to be determined. We aimed to perform a meta‐analysis exploring the correlation between NGAL and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in CKD patients, and to further identify factors affecting NGAL's performance. METHODS: Studies dated before November 2017 were retrieved from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library. A total of 28 relevant studies (involving 3082 patients from 17 countries) were included. The second version of the Quality Assessment for Studies of Diagnostic Accuracy demonstrated that no significant bias had influenced the methodological quality of the included studies. RESULTS: Neutrophil gelatinase‐associated lipocalin showed a strong negative correlation with measured glomerular filtration rate (mGFR). The pooled correlation coefficient (r) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals for the correlation between serum NGAL (sNGAL) and GFR was −0.48, meanwhile that for urine NGAL (uNGAL) and GFR was −0.34. However, NGAL's performance is different in subgroups restricted by clinical settings, race, sex, age, and staging of renal function. CONCLUSION: Neutrophil gelatinase‐associated lipocalin could be a renal function evaluation marker for patients with renal dysfunction in CKD. Compared with uNGAL, there was a significant negative correlation between sNGAL and GFR. The performances of sNGAL and uNGAL were restricted by clinical factors that should be considered in regards to the sampling source selection.