The Use of Biomarkers to Track and Treat Critical Illness

Biomarkers are objectively measurable parameters that provide clinicians with timely information to guide diagnosis and patient management beyond that which can be obtained from routinely available data. The literature contains thousands of articles on biomarkers in veterinary medicine. Specifically reviewed are the acute kidney injury markers neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, cystatin, clusterin, and kidney-injury molecule-1; the cardiac troponins and natriuretic peptides as biomarkers of heart disease; the acute phase protein C-reactive protein; procalcitonin; inflammatory cytokines; the markers of neutrophil extracellular trap formation cell-free DNA and nucleosomes; and markers of injury to the endothelium and endothelial glycocalyx including hyaluronan.