Plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin and worsening renal function during everolimus therapy after heart transplantation

A Nomogram to Predict Contrast Induced Nephropathy in Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is the third leading cause of hospital-acquired acute kidney injury (AKI). Emerging evidence has revealed that soluble klotho (sklotho) could be a novel biomarker for early AKI diagnosis. The aims of this study were to assess the predictive role of sklotho for CIN and to develop a prediction nomogram in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This study is registered on Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT 02650336).Patients aged 18 years or older undergoing planned PCI were prospectively recruited between May 2014 and July 2015. CIN was defined as an increase in serum creatinine of 0.5 mg/dL within 48-72 hours after the procedure. Plasma sklotho was measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Stratified analysis, interaction test, covariate screening, and curve fitting were performed to explore the association between sklotho and CIN. A nomogram was then developed and validated using the bootstrapped technique.A total of 192 patients aged 54.75 ± 12.19 years were selected, 32 (16.7%) of whom were diagnosed with CIN. A logistic regression model indicated significant associations between CIN and sklotho, age > 75 years, diabetes, and the Mehran risk score. Saturation effects analysis detected a two-stage change between sklotho and CIN, with the inflection point was 477.4 pg/mL. The area under the ROC curve was 0.758 and the sensitivity and specificity of this point were 90.6% and 53.9%, respectively. A nomogram was developed for the prediction of CIN and showed a bootstrapped-corrected area under the curve value of 0.913. In addition, sklotho significantly increased the predictive value of the nomogram.A strong association between sklotho and CIN was identified in patients undergoing elective PCI. A lower level of sklotho would be well correlated with CIN. The nomogram with sklotho is a useful tool to predict CIN in patients who will undergo PCI.

Everolimus Attenuates Myocardial Hypertrophy and Improves Diastolic Function in Heart Transplant Recipients

Everolimus (EVL), one of the mammalian targets of rapamycin, is a next generation immunosuppressant that may have accessory anti-proliferative effects in heart transplant (HTx) recipients. However, little is known about the clinical relationship between EVL and regression of cardiac hypertrophy. A total of 42 HTx recipients received EVL therapy at post-HTx 150 days on median and had been followed at our institute for > 1 year between 2008 and 2014 [EVL (+) group]. We also observed 18 patients without EVL from post-HTx 150 days for 1 year [EVL (-) group]. There were no significant differences in baseline variables between the two groups. Left ventricular mass index (LVMI) and the ratio of early transmitral filling velocity to the peak early diastolic mitral annular motion velocity (E/e') decreased significantly during 1-year EVL treatment compared with the EVL (-) group. There were no differences in blood pressure and medications between the 2 groups. Improvement of LVMI and the E/e' ratio was not associated with trough levels of calcineurin inhibitors or EVL, but correlated with each baseline value. In conclusion, this EVL-incorporated immunosuppressant regimen attenuated cardiac hypertrophy as well as diastolic dysfunction in HTx recipients.