Kidney injury markers

Overview

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is an abrupt loss of kidney function that develops within a short period of time. A measurable decrease in urine output may be a sign of the deterioration of kidney function. Several alternative markers have been proposed, such as NGAL and cystatin C. NGAL is known to be low in healthy individuals but can be detected at higher levels within 2 hours of AKI in both blood and urine, due to the kidney’s rapid response. It can be used for early AKI diagnosis, risk assessment, prediction of clinical outcomes, and to monitor therapy response.