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Updated: Jul 5, 2025

A Large Animal Model for Acute Kidney Injury by Temporary Bilateral Renal Artery Occlusion
Published on: February 2, 2021
Protein Kinase N1 Level Predicts Acute Kidney Injury in Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery: A Prospective Cohort
Lianjiu Su1,2,3, Fangfang Zhu1,2, Jiahao Zhang1
1Department of Critical Care Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
Introduction:
The objective of this study was to examine the utility of protein kinase N1 (PKN1) as a biomarker of cardiac surgery-associated AKI (CSA-AKI).
Methods:
A prospective cohort study of 110 adults undergoing on-pump cardiac surgery was conducted. The associations between post-operative PKN1 and CSA-AKI, AKI severity, need for renal replacement therapy (RRT), duration of AKI, length of ICU stay, and post-operative hospital stay were evaluated.
Results:
Patients were categorized into three groups according to PKN1 tertiles. The incidence of CSA-AKI in the third tertile was 3.4-fold higher than that in the first. PKN1 was an independent risk factor for CSA-AKI. The discrimination of PKN1 to CSA-AKI assessed by ROC curve indicated that the AUC was 0.70, and the best cutoff was 5.025 ng/mL. This group (>5.025 ng/mL) was more likely to develop CSA-AKI (p < 0.001). The combined AUC of EuroSCORE, aortic cross-clamp time, and PKN1 was 0.82 (p < 0.001). A higher level of PKN1 was related to increased need for RRT, longer duration of AKI, and length of ICU and post-operative hospital stays.
Conclusions:
PKN1 could be a potential biomarker for the prediction of CSA-AKI. The combination of PKN1, EuroSCORE, and aortic cross-clamp time was likely to predict the occurrence of CSA-AKI.
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