• Anna Suchojad, Anna Tarko, Mike Smertka, Malgorzata Majcherczyk, Aniceta Brzozowska, Jolanta Wroblewska, and Iwona Maruniak-Chudek.
• Department of Neonatal Intensive Care, Faculty of Medicine in Katowice, Upper Silesian Centre of Child's Health, Medical University of Silesia , Katowice , Poland and.
• Ren Fail. 2015 Apr 1;37(3):439-45.

BackgroundNeutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is postulated to be a highly sensitive and specific marker of acute kidney injury (AKI). The aim of this study was to assess the factors affecting serum and urine total NGAL in preterm newborns, limiting the role of this new potential marker of AKI.MethodsSerum and urinary total NGAL concentrations were determined in 57 preterm infants admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in the following points of time: first week of life, between 8 and 14 days of life, and after the fourth week of life. Patients' clinical conditions were evaluated based on NTISS (Neonatal Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System). Two gestational age subgroups were distinguished: ≤29 and 30 to 35 weeks of gestation. We sought correlation between total NGAL values and gestational age, birth weight, Apgar score and severity of clinical condition, with particular interest in inflammatory status.ResultsSerum and urinary total NGAL concentration correlated with inflammatory markers, such as CRP and procalcitonin, as well as with NTISS values. Birth weight and gestational age influence urinary NGAL (uNGAL) values in the first two weeks of life. In AKI (N = 8) patients uNGAL values were significantly higher than in non-AKI newborns.ConclusionsWe conclude that inflammatory status and prematurity limits the specificity of total NGAL measurement as a marker of AKI.

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