Pediatric nephrology : journal of the International Pediatric Nephrology Association
-
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a major complication in children who undergo cardiopulmonary bypass surgery. We performed metabonomic analyses of urine samples obtained from 40 children that underwent cardiac surgery for correction of congenital cardiac defects. Serial urine samples were obtained from each patient prior to surgery and at 4 h and 12 h after surgery. ⋯ The LC/MS peak with mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) 261.01 and retention time (tR) 4.92 min was further analyzed by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) and identified as homovanillic acid sulfate (HVA-SO4), a dopamine metabolite. By MS single-reaction monitoring, the sensitivity was 0.90 and specificity was 0.95 for a cut-off value of 24 ng/microl for HVA-SO4 at 12 h after surgery. We concluded that urinary HVA-SO4 represents a novel, sensitive, and predictive early biomarker of AKI after pediatric cardiac surgery.
-
Pediatric transplant patients are known to have vascular abnormalities. The calcification inhibitors matrix Gla protein (MGP) and fetuin-A play an important role in the pathophysiology of vascular calcification. In the cross-sectional study reported here, we examined the circulating levels of fetuin-A and MGP in children after renal transplantation compared to healthy children and the association of these factors with vascular properties of the carotid artery. ⋯ No associations between vascular parameters and calcification inhibitors were found in either group. Circulating levels of MGP and fetuin-A could not be identified as independent predictors of vascular stiffness or other carotid artery parameters in pediatric renal transplant recipients. Future prospective studies in pediatric ESRD and transplant patients are needed to learn more about the role of calcification inhibitors in relation to the prevention of vascular damage.