Clinical chemistry
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Acute kidney injury (AKI) affects 45% of critically ill patients, resulting in increased morbidity and mortality. The diagnostic standard, plasma creatinine, is nonspecific and may not increase until days after injury. There is significant need for a renal-specific AKI biomarker detectable early enough that there would be a potential window for therapeutic intervention. In this study, we sought to identify a renal-specific biomarker of AKI. ⋯ MIOX is a renal-specific, proximal tubule protein that is increased in serum of animals and plasma of critically ill patients with AKI. MIOX preceded the increases in creatinine concentration by approximately 2 days in human patients. Large-scale studies are warranted to further investigate MIOX as an AKI biomarker.