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Editorial
. 2017 Mar;32(3):377-381.
doi: 10.1007/s00467-016-3540-0. Epub 2016 Oct 26.

Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin: utility in urologic conditions

Catherine S Forster  1 , Prasad Devarajan  2
Affiliations
Editorial

Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin: utility in urologic conditions

Catherine S Forster et al. Pediatr Nephrol. 2017 Mar.

Abstract

Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is best known as a non-invasive early marker of acute kidney injury (AKI). However, recent published reports have described additional utility of both plasma NGAL (pNGAL) and urine NGAL (uNGAL) in various pathologic conditions within the pediatric urinary tract, including urinary tract infection, vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), renal scarring, and obstructive uropathy. These two forms of NGAL have different applications related to their mechanisms of upregulation: pNGAL can serve as a marker of systemic inflammatory conditions, whereas uNGAL is specific for insults to the renal epithelium. Therefore, pNGAL has good predictive accuracy in systemic inflammation associated with pyelonephritis and renal damage, while uNGAL is an effective marker for identifying infection within the genitourinary environment as well as subclinical renal damage as a result of scarring or obstruction. Continued work should focus on the effect of trending NGAL values in patients with pyelonephritis, VUR, and hydronephrosis, to determine if longitudinal NGAL patterns have value in predicting adverse outcomes.

Keywords: Biomarkers; Pyelonephritis; Renal scar; Urinary tract infections; Vesico-ureteral reflux.

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Conflict of interest statement

statement The authors declare there are no conflicts to declare.

Comment on

References

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