Correlation and Diagnostic Value of Serum Cys-C, RBP4, and NGAL with the Condition of Patients with Traumatic Acute Kidney Injury

Abstract

There is a lack of targeted biomarkers that can diagnose Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) early and accurately, which leads to deterioration of renal function and even death in patients who do not receive timely and effective treatment. In recent years, an increasing number of studies have shown that AKI-related markers such as cystatin C (Cys-C) and retinol-binding protein (RBP) can be used for early diagnosis of AKI to a certain extent. A total of 262 subjects were included in this study, of which 132 patients with traumatic AKI were enrolled in one group and named as the AKI group; 130 healthy subjects were enrolled in another group and named as the healthy group. AKI patients with different conditions were classified into AKI phase I, II, and III according to the KDIGO AKI diagnostic criteria, with 45, 59, and 28 in each group. In this study, we examined and compared serum Cys-C, RBP4, and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipid transport protein (NGAL) levels between the AKI and healthy groups and between patients with AKI of different conditions, and the correlation and diagnostic value of three serum markers with the condition of traumatic AKI patients were also analyzed. The results showed that serum Cys-C, RBP4, and NGAL were significantly higher in the AKI group compared with the healthy group ( $P<0.05$ ), and the mean concentrations of the three serum markers increased as the severity of the disease increased, while correlation analysis showed that all three serum markers were positively correlated with serum Scr levels ( $P<0.001$ ). Further ROC curve analysis was performed, and the diagnostic values of serum Cys C, RBP4, and NGAL alone and in combination for traumatic AKI were 0.769, 0.741, 0.771, and 0.905, respectively. In short, serum Cys C, RBP4, NGAL have important value for the assessment and diagnosis of traumatic AKI patients.