Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 20, 2026

Implementation of Non-invasive Point of Care Transient Elastography for Evaluation of Liver Disease in Pediatric Populations with Cystic Fibrosis
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Implementation of Non-invasive Point of Care Transient Elastography for Evaluation of Liver Disease in Pediatric Populations with Cystic Fibrosis

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Elevated cystatin C: is it a reflection for kidney or liver impairment in hepatic children?

Behairy El-Sayed1, Hanaa El-Araby1, Nermin Adawy1

  • 1Pediatric Hepatology Department, National Liver Institute, Menofyia University, Egypt.

Clinical and Experimental Hepatology
|October 25, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Serum cystatin C (Cyst-C) effectively indicates renal impairment in children with chronic liver diseases. It does not correlate with liver fibrosis severity but accurately predicts reduced glomerular filtration rate.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Nephrology
  • Hepatology
  • Clinical Chemistry

Background:

  • Chronic liver diseases (CLDs) in children can lead to complications affecting multiple organs.
  • Assessing renal function in pediatric CLD patients is crucial for management.
  • Serum cystatin C (Cyst-C) is a potential biomarker for kidney function, but its role in CLD requires clarification.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate serum cystatin C (Cyst-C) as an indicator of renal or hepatic dysfunction in pediatric patients with liver fibrosis.
  • To determine the correlation between Cyst-C levels and the degree of liver impairment.
  • To assess the accuracy of Cyst-C in identifying renal impairment and estimating glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in this population.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of data from 50 children with CLDs (25 with renal impairment, 25 without) and 20 healthy controls.
  • Inclusion of routine investigations, creatinine clearance, viral markers, abdominal ultrasonography, and liver biopsy for CLD patients.
  • Measurement of serum Cyst-C concentrations using particle-induced immunonephelometry.

Main Results:

  • Serum Cyst-C levels were significantly higher in children with renal impairment compared to those without and healthy controls.
  • Cyst-C showed no correlation with the severity of hepatic impairment (p > 0.05).
  • Elevated Cyst-C levels accurately predicted reduced GFR, with specific cutoffs showing high diagnostic accuracy (e.g., 100% for distinguishing renal impairment, 90% for GFR < 40 ml/min).

Conclusions:

  • Serum cystatin C (Cyst-C) is a valuable and promising biomarker for assessing renal impairment in pediatric patients with chronic liver diseases.
  • Cyst-C demonstrates high accuracy in detecting renal dysfunction and estimating GFR in this cohort.
  • Further research is warranted to confirm the utility of Cyst-C for early renal impairment detection and monitoring in children with CLDs.
Abstract

Keywords:
chronic liver diseasecystatin Crenal impairment

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