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. 2022 Jun;43(6):559-566.
doi: 10.15537/smj.2022.43.6.20220156.

Serum neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin concentrations are significantly associated with the severity of COVID-19 in pregnant patients

Esra Can  1 , Süleyman Cemil Oğlak  1 , Fatma Ölmez  1 , Huri Bulut  1
Affiliations

Serum neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin concentrations are significantly associated with the severity of COVID-19 in pregnant patients

Esra Can et al. Saudi Med J. 2022 Jun.

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate serum neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) concentrations of pregnant women complicated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and investigate its diagnostic value for the severity of COVID-19.

Methods: Of the 46 pregnant women with COVID-19 included in the study, we further classified these women into 2 subgroups: the non-severe COVID-19 group (n=25) and the severe COVID-19 group (n=21).

Results: Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin plasma concentrations were significantly higher in pregnant women complicated with severe COVID-19 (90 [53.1-207.7] ng/ml) compared to those from pregnant women with non-severe COVID-19 (51.8 [39.6-70.3] ng/ml) and healthy pregnant women (44.3 [32.2-54.1] ng/ml, p<0.001). Also, at a cutoff value of 72 ng/ml, NGAL predicted severe COVID-19 with a sensitivity rate of 57% and a specificity rate of 84%. Serum NGAL level (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]=1.020, 95% confidence interval [CI]= [1.006-1.035], p=0.007), and D-dimer level (aHR=2.371, 95% CI= [1.085-5.181], p=0.030) were the variables that were revealed to be significantly associated with the disease severity.

Conclusion: We demonstrated that NGAL was highly associated with COVID-19 severity. We consider that NGAL might be a useful biomarker to diagnose the disease severity in patients with COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; disease severity; neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin.

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Figures

Figure 1 -
Figure 1 -
Plasma neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL) levels of patients with or without severe coronavirus disease -19 survivors. IQR: interquartile range
Figure 2 -
Figure 2 -
Discriminatory ability of neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL) in determining the severity of pregnant patients with coronavirus disease -19. AUC: area under the curve
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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