Background and objectives: Studies have evaluated acute kidney injury (AKI) using biomarkers in various settings, but their prognostic utility within current practice is unclear. Thus, we sought to determine the prognostic utility of newer biomarkers or traditional markers (fractional excretion of sodium [FeNa] and urea [FeUrea] and microscopy) over clinical assessment alone.
Design, setting, participants, & measurements: This is a prospective cohort study of adults on the first day of meeting AKI criteria. We measured urine concentrations of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), and IL-18 and determined FeNa, FeUrea, and microscopy score for casts and tubular cells. Primary outcome was worsened AKI stage from enrollment to peak serum creatinine or in-hospital death.
Results: In 249 recipients, 57% were ≥65 years old, 48% were from intensive care, and mean baseline GFR was 69 ± 30 ml/min per 1.73 m(2). AKI was considered prerenal in 164 (66%), acute tubular necrosis (ATN) in 51 (20%), and "other" in 34 (14%). All mean protein biomarker concentrations, FeNa, FeUrea, and microscopy scores were statistically different between prerenal and ATN. Seventy-two patients (29%) developed the primary outcome. There was an approximate three-fold increase in adjusted risk for the outcome for upper versus lower values of NGAL, KIM-1, IL-18, and microscopy score (P values <0.05). Net reclassification improved after adding these to baseline clinical assessment. FeNa and FeUrea were not useful.
Conclusions: On the first day of AKI, urine protein biomarkers and microscopy significantly improve upon clinical determination of prognosis, indicating their potential utility in current practice.