Plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL): A candidate biomarker to detect early acute kidney injury (AKI) for at-risk intensive care admissions

INTRODUCTION: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a presentation of an underlying heterogeneous group of conditions that leads to impairment of filtration and excretion of nitrogenous waste products from the body. A prompt early diagnosis to detect AKI is a mandate due to the associated risk of high mortality and morbidity. We tested the sensitivity and specificity of plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), a potential biomarker of AKI, versus serum creatinine, the gold standard laboratory test. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional diagnostic type study was conducted from February 2015 to January 2017 after obtaining the institutional ethics clearance certificate. Individuals admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of a tertiary care hospital of northeast India who were diagnosed with septicemia, heart failure, and ketoacidosis and individuals on nephrotoxic drugs such as aminoglycosides were included in the study. Serum creatinine and plasma NGAL of all individuals were estimated using suitable methods within 24 h of admissions. RESULTS: Considering all inclusion and exclusion criteria, 138 individuals were included in the study. The area under the curve (AUC) for plasma NGAL on day 1 of admission was 0.800 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.712–0.882). In the study, we estimated a plasma NGAL cut-off value of 391 ng/mL (with an odds ratio of 9.89) within the day of admission. CONCLUSION: Plasma NGAL is a candidate biomarker of AKI with acceptable sensitivity and specificity (AUC of 0.80) that can predict AKI in our setup before serum creatinine is raised, thereby asking for a prompt intervention to reduce the mortality and morbidity associated with AKI.