Pediatric nephrology : journal of the International Pediatric Nephrology Association
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Clinical Trial
Serum neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin as a marker of renal function in children with chronic kidney disease.
Very few biomarkers exist for monitoring chronic kidney disease (CKD). We have recently shown that serum neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) represents a novel biomarker for early identification of acute kidney injury. In this study, we hypothesized that serum NGAL may also represent a biomarker for the quantitation of CKD. ⋯ At GFR levels of >or=30 ml/min per 1.73 m(2), serum NGAL, cystatin C, and eGFR were all significantly correlated with measured GFR. However, in subjects with lower GFRs (<30 ml/min per 1.73 m(2)), serum NGAL levels correlated best with measured GFR (r=0.62), followed by cystatin C (r=0.41). We conclude that (a) both serum NGAL and cystatin C may prove useful in the quantitation of CKD, and (b) by correlation analysis, NGAL outperforms cystatin C and eGFR at lower levels of measured GFR.