New Test Predicts Life-Threatening Kidney Complications in Pediatric Heart Patients
A simple new lab test can reliably predict which patients will suffer acute kidney failure following surgery, giving physicians as many as three additional days in which to initiate treatment. The development could lead to significantly improved patient outcomes, according to researchers whose findings appear in the latest edition of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
This newest test measures neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) -- a biomarker found in urine. Detection of the biomarker can alert members of a patient's care team to the impending probability of acute kidney failure, giving them valuable additional time in which to treat and possibly prevent long-term damage and even patient fatalities.
Researchers conducting this latest study observed 196 children who underwent cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) surgery to repair congenital heart defects -- a surgery that carries major risk factor for acute kidney injury.
Kidney failure occurred in 51 percent of the children. All of those children were accurately pre-diagnosed based on increased levels of creatinine two to three days after surgery. Researchers determined that urine NGAL levels began to increase within a few hours of these childrens' surgeries, reaching levels as much as 25 times higher than normal within four hours of surgery. Children with higher urine NGAL levels were consistently more likely to require dialysis, more likely to die, and also to take longer to recover their kidney function.
Previously on the DC Metro Area Medical Malpractice Law Blog, we have posted articles related to:
- Evidence that obese patients wait longer for kidney transplants
- Potential dangers of antibiotic treatment for kids' recurrent urinary tract infections
- The increasing risk of kidney damage following heart bypass operations
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