Urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin as a biomarker of acute kidney injury and prognosis in decompensated chronic liver disease: A prospective study

Evaluation of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) Biomarkers FABP1, NGAL, Cystatin C and IL-18 in an Indian Cohort of Hospitalized Acute-on-chronic Liver Failure (ACLF) Patients

Background/Aims

Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a complication of cirrhosis associated with systemic inflammation and organ dysfunction. In ACLF, the development of acute kidney injury (AKI) is associated with poor outcomes. FABP1, NGAL, Cys C and IL-18 have been shown to correlate with ACLF severity and mortality. Hence, our study aimed to evaluate the association of these biomarkers with organ dysfunctions, particularly AKI, in an Indian ACLF patient cohort.

Methods

151 study participants including ACLF (n = 91; with AKI n = 63, no-AKI n = 28), non-liver AKI (n = 30) and healthy controls (n = 30) were recruited. Serum ELISA was performed for biomarker estimation. Data interpolation and graphical representation were performed using GraphPad Prism and statistical analyses performed using STATA 14.0.

Results

FABP1 and Cys C levels were higher in ACLF-AKI patients compared to ACLF no-AKI (P-value ≤ 0.0005). Serum Cys C levels were significantly increased in non-liver AKI compared to ACLF-AKI (P-value ≤ 0.001). AUROC analysis showed better performance of Cys C (AUC 0.79; 95% CI (0.68-0.89)) compared to serum creatinine (AUC 0.71; 95% CI (0.61-0.82)) in discriminating AKI and no-AKI. Correlation analysis revealed positive correlations of FABP1 with creatinine and urea, Cys C with creatinine, urea and OF-Kidney, NGAL, and IL-18 with general markers of organ dysfunction. Plasma MTs) measured in a subset of ACLF patients were elevated in progression-to-AKI.

Conclusion

Our study showed that in an Indian population of ACLF patients with a high short-term mortality, serum Cys C and FABP1 were elevated in ACLF-AKI, however did not have predictive potential for ACLF-AKI. Cys C levels were significantly higher in non-liver AKI patients vs. ACLF-AKI and correlated with markers of kidney dysfunction whereas NGAL and IL-18 represented higher inflammation and total organ dysfunction. Hence, we conclude that these biomarkers were elevated in ACLF-AKI but did not have predictive potential for AKI in ACLF.

Reliability of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin in detecting acute tubular necrosis in decompensated cirrhosis: Systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Acute kidney injury (AKI) in cirrhosis is common. The diagnosis of AKI in cirrhosis patients depends on clinical presentation and laboratory tests like serum creatinine. However, urine biomarkers could also be used to assess the type of AKI and the severity of the disease. We performed a systematic review with meta-analysis to evaluate the association with urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) marker in identifying acute tubular necrosis (ATN) in patients with cirrhosis.

AIM

To assess the reliability of urine NGAL in the detection of ATN in patients with cirrhosis.

METHODS

We systematically searched MEDLINE and PubMed using keywords including "urine biomarkers", "NGAL", "kidney dysfunction", and "cirrhosis" to identify relevant studies. Data was screened and extracted. Included studies assessed hospitalized cirrhosis patients with AKI using the urine NGAL biomarker. We synthesized the data using diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), comparative and descriptive analyses, and Cochran Mantel-Haenszel (CMH) statistics to evaluate heterogeneity.

RESULTS

Three thousand seven hundred and one patients with cirrhosis were analyzed from a total of 21 cohort studies. The DOR of 14 of those studies [pooled DOR: 22.150, (95%CI: 17.58-27.89), P < 0.0001] demonstrated a significant association between urine NGAL levels and its identification of ATN. Following stratification by cirrhosis status, heterogeneity was analyzed and showed a significant non-zero correlation between NGAL and AKI (CMH statistic = 702.19, P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION

In patients with cirrhosis, the use of urine NGAL is a reliable biomarker for detecting ATN and identifying the etiology of AKI.

Acute Kidney Injury and Hepatorenal Syndrome in Patients with Cirrhosis

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common in hospitalized patients with cirrhosis. Hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) is a type of AKI known as HRS-AKI. It is a severe complication of cirrhosis with high morbidity and mortality. While certain vasoconstrictor medications have been shown to improve HRS-AKI, no clear transplant-free survival benefit has been reported with medical therapies. Patients with HRS-AKI should be considered for urgent liver transplantation evaluation. In this review, we discuss the most recent updates on the definition, diagnosis, and management of AKI in cirrhosis, with special a emphasis on HRS.