Biomarkers May Predict AKI Severity Following Cardiac Surgery.

MedPage Today  (3/3, Bankhead) reported, "Several biomarkers predicted the severity of acute kidney injury (AKI) after cardiac surgery more quickly than did serum creatinine," according to a study  published online March 1 in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. "Elevated levels of urinary and plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) -- a biomarker of structural renal tubular injury -- conferred more than a seven-fold likelihood of severe injury after heart surgery," the study found. What's more, "patients with high levels of interleukin-18 or an elevated urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) were three times more likely to have severe injury than patients who had low levels of the biomarkers," researchers reported.