Predicting Severity of Acute Kidney Injury in Term Neonates with Perinatal Asphyxia Using Urinary Neutrophil Gelatinase Associated Lipocalin.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the utility of urinary Neutrophil Gelatinase Associated Lipocalin (NGAL) as a biomarker for predicting Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) and its severity among neonates with perinatal asphyxia.


METHODS
This descriptive study included 120 term neonates with perinatal asphyxia. Renal parameters of neonates were monitored and AKI was ascertained as per Acute Kidney Injury Network criteria. Urinary NGAL was estimated and correlated with severity of AKI.


RESULTS
Among the 120 neonates with perinatal asphyxia, 55(46 %) had AKI. The median urinary NGAL level was 165 ng/ml (88.8-245.8) in neonates with AKI compared to 58.97(42.8-74.7) in those without AKI. The median NGAL was 134.45(112.2-162.5), 301.2(255.5-361.2), 416.2(412.2-465.5) in AKI stages 1, 2 and 3 respectively. An NGAL cut off value of 86.82 ng/ml had 87 % sensitivity and 87.7 % specificity in predicting AKI.


CONCLUSIONS
Urinary NGAL is a useful biomarker for predicting AKI and its severity among neonates with perinatal asphyxia.
['Tanigasalam|Vasanthan|V|', 'Bhat|Ballambattu Vishnu|BV|', 'Adhisivam|Bethou|B|', 'Sridhar|Magadi Gopalakrishna|MG|', 'Harichandrakumar|Kottyen Thazath|KT|']
D058186:Acute Kidney Injury D000209:Acute-Phase Proteins D001237:Asphyxia D015415:Biomarkers D006801:Humans D007231:Infant, Newborn D000071068:Lipocalin-2 D054834:Lipocalins D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins
Acute kidney injury Neonate Perinatal asphyxia Biomarker AKI Urinary NGAL