title: Does maternal hydronephrosis have an impact on urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL) levels?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL) levels and creatinine clearance values in women with different degrees of asymptomatic hydronephrosis during pregnancy.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 44 pregnant women with different degrees of hydronephrosis and 46 without hydronephrosis were consecutively enrolled in this prospective study. Basic serum and urine parameters, uNGAL levels, and creatinine clearance values were evaluated. All results were compared between the two groups. Regression analysis was used to determine independent predictors, which were mostly related to hydronephrosis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Demographic data, basal laboratory parameters, and creatinine clearance values were similar, whereas significantly higher uNGAL levels were detected in women with hydronephrosis compared to those without hydronephrosis (45.3 versus 33.2 ng/mL, respectively) (p = 0.004). An increasing trend in uNGAL levels was detected with increasing degrees of hydronephrosis; as it was not statistically significant (p = 0.163). Linear regression analysis revealed that the parameter of "pelvic diameter" was found as a significant independent factor influencing uNGAL concentrations (β = 0.289; 95% CI: 0.522-3.061; p = 0.006). Other independent variables were not found to influence uNGAL concentrations (p > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results obtained from this study indicate a significant increase of urinary concentration of NGAL in the presence of asymptomatic maternal hydronephrosis. This impact is likely to be more profound in those with severe hydronephrosis although this has not been specifically investigated. This theory needs to be validated in larger populations.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
authors.forename: Emre G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Pabuccu
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
authors.forename: Gamze Sinem
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Caglar
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
authors.forename: Mine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kiseli
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
authors.forename: Asli
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yarci Gursoy
authors.affiliation: b Department of Biochemistry.
authors.forename: Tuba
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Candar
authors.affiliation: c Department of Urology , and.
authors.forename: Semih
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tangal
authors.affiliation: d Department of Nephrology , Faculty of Medicine, Ufuk University , Ankara , Turkey.
authors.forename: İhsan
authors.initials: İ
authors.lastname: Ergun
mesh_terms: D058186:Acute Kidney Injury / Q000652:urine*; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000652:urine*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003404:Creatinine / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D006869:Hydronephrosis / Q000652:urine*; D000071068:Lipocalin-2 / Q000652:urine*; D010388:Pelvis / Q000473:pathology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C489506:LCN2 protein, human; D000071068:Lipocalin-2; D003404:Creatinine
keywords: Hydronephrosis; NGAL; pregnancy; renal function