Urinary kidney injury molecule-1 rapid test predicts acute kidney injury in extremely low-birth-weight neonates

The new urinary and serum biomarkers are discovered and are being investigated. With them we can diagnose acute kidney injury (AKI) faster and more precisely and they also have a significant role in the outcome prediction.

The study included 22 extremely low-birth-weight neonates who were hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care units. They were divided into two groups based on serum creatinine (SCr) level-with and without AKI. Detection and quantification of urinary kidney injury molecule-1 (uKIM-1) was done on the third day of life, using commercially available KIM-1 rapid test. Subsequently, measurements were repeated only in subjects who were diagnosed with AKI, at different values of SCr.

Logistic regression analysis showed that AKI is an independent risk factor for mortality. In a group of neonates with AKI, 50% of neonates administered the KIM-1 rapid test showed positive findings. KIM-1 rapid test was positive in patients with a wide range of SCr levels (range of 78.73-385 µmol/l), but all subjects had oliguria and died in the next 24 h.

KIM-1 is a significant predictor of death. On the other hand, our study failed to prove that KIM-1 rapid test has any significance for early prediction of AKI.