title: Serum Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin in Infants and Children with Sepsis-Related Conditions with or without Acute Renal Dysfunction.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To validate serum neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) as an early biomarker for acute kidney injury (AKI) in sepsis-related conditions and its predictive and prognostic values.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study included 65 patients, who were clinically evaluated for sepsis, severe sepsis, or septic shock, and 20 apparently healthy served as controls. Patients were divided into two groups: Group I (AKI-sepsis): 65 newly admitted patients diagnosed as sepsis, who were further divided into three subgroups according to the severity: systemic inflammatory response syndrome, severe sepsis, and septic shock, and Group II (control group): 20 apparently healthy subjects matched for age and sex, serum creatinine and serum NGAL concentrations were estimated initially within 24 hours of admission and after 72 hours of admission in all patients and control groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Serum NGAL increased significantly with increasing severity of renal impairment. Receiver-operating characteristic analysis suggested that serum NGAL cutoff value of 40 ng/mL within the first 24 hours of admission is highly specific and sensitive for predicting AKI, with sensitivity of 90.9% and specificity of 75.8%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We concluded that early measurement of serum NGAL level in sepsis can serve as a clinically useful marker for early prediction of AKI and for grading of its severity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University Hospital, Minia, Egypt.
authors.forename: Mohammed Farouk M
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Afify
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University Hospital, Minia, Egypt.
authors.forename: Sheren Esam
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Maher
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University Hospital, Minia, Egypt.
authors.forename: Nora Mohamed
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University Hospital, Minia, Egypt.
authors.forename: Waleed Mahamoud Abd
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: El-Hamied
keywords: AKI; NGAL; sepsis