Is plasma and urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin determination in donors and recipients predictive of renal function after kidney transplantation?

Buemi A, Musuamba F, Frederic S, et al.

Clin Biochem. Epub ahead of print 8 July 2014.

DOI: 10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2014.06.079.

Delayed graft function (DGF) is a major issue in kidney transplantation. Transplant patients are often unstable, meaning that current methods for evaluating renal function may be unsuitable. Previous studies showed urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) to be an early predictor of dialysis requirement post transplantation. This article evaluates the ability of both urine and plasma NGAL in 97 kidney donors and recipients to predict early renal function and the incidence of DGF following transplantation. NGAL was measured in urine (uNGAL) using the Abbott non-competitive immunoassay and in plasma (pNGAL) using the Triage point-of-care fluorescence immunoassay.

Regression analysis showed that donor NGAL was not a significant predictor of graft function recovery or DGF. Recipient pNGAL was significantly associated with DGF at 6, 24 and 48 h post transplant, and was a better predictor of this outcome than uNGAL; however, the paper concludes that this interval is too long for recipient pNGAL to compete with current practice, although this statement was not qualified by a comparison with existing biomarkers.