Serum cystatin C as a marker of the renal function in patients with spinal cord injury
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 26, 2026

Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound Imaging for Assessment of Spinal Cord Blood Flow in Experimental Spinal Cord Injury
Published on: May 7, 2015
S A Thomassen1, I L Johannesen, E J Erlandsen
1Department of Internal Medicine, Viborg-Kjellerup County Hospital, Viborg, Denmark.
Objective:
To investigate the relationship between serum cystatin C, serum creatinine, and (51)Cr-EDTA-clearance in patients with spinal cord injury.
Setting:
The Spinal Cord Unit, Viborg-Kjellerup County Hospital.
Methods:
Twenty-four men and seven women aged 20.3 to 68.0 years with motor complete spinal cord injury (ASIA A or B) were included. Serum cystatin C was measured by an automated particle-enhanced nephelometric immunoassay (Dade Behring), serum creatinine by an enzymatic method (Vitros 950), and (51)Cr-EDTA-clearance by a multiple plasma sample method.
Results:
A linear relationship was found between (51)Cr-EDTA-clearance and the reciprocal values of cystatin C and creatinine. The correlation coefficient between (51)Cr-EDTA-clearance and 1/cystatin C was 0.72 compared to the correlation coefficient between (51)Cr-EDTA-clearance and 1/creatinine being 0.26. Comparison of the area under the curves in the non-parametric receiver operating characteristics (ROC) plots for serum cystatin C (area under the curve (AUC)=0.912; SE=0.065), and serum creatinine (AUC=0.507; SE=0.115) revealed significant differences (P-values=0.0005).
Conclusion:
In patients with spinal cord injury serum cystatin C is a better marker of the renal function compared to serum creatinine.
Related Concept Videos
Factors Affecting Renal Clearance: Renal Impairment
One condition associated with renal failure is uremia. Uremia is characterized by impaired glomerular filtration and fluid accumulation in the body. This condition hinders the renal clearance of drugs, resulting in drug accumulation and potential...
Serum Studies: Renal Function Tests

