Urine NGAL as a biomarker of kidney damage after on- and off-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery: a prospective pilot study.

Introduction: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a relatively frequent complication after coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). We compared the off- and on-pump CABG procedures with respect to changes in renal function as reflected by levels of urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (UrNGAL).

Methods: In a prospective design, we studied patients who underwent CABG, off- or on-pump, with respect to changes in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and UrNGAL pre- and postoperatively.

Evidence that even "normal" albuminuria may denote incipient GFR reduction in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Aims: In patients with diabetes and microalbuminuria, small changes of GFR could have been missed, due to the lack of sensitive methodology for GFR determination in clinical practice (creatinine based calculations). Therefore we explored the relation of the degree of albumin excretion with Cystatin C, which has been recently proved to be a better marker of GFR, compared to serum creatinine.

Methods: We studied 179 patients with type 2 diabetes, in whom renal function and microalbuminuria were evaluated.