Predicting Glomerular Filtration Rate in Heart Transplant Recipients Using Serum Creatinine–based Equations With Cimetidine

AbstractGlomerular filtration rate (GFR) is difficult to measure, and estimating formulas are notorious for lacking precision. This study aims to assess if the inclusion of additional biomarkers improves the performance of eGFR formulas. A hundred and sixteen children with renal diseases were enrolled. Data for age, weight, height, inulin clearance (iGFR), serum creatinine, cystatin C, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), parathyroid hormone (PTH), albumin, and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) were collected. These variables were added to the revised and combined (serum creatinine and cystatin C) Schwartz formulas, and the quadratic and combined quadratic formulas. We calculated the adjusted r-square (r2) in relation to iGFR and tested the improvement in variance explained by means of the likelihood ratio test. The combined Schwartz and the combined quadratic formulas yielded best results with an r2 of 0.676 and 0.730, respectively. The addition of BNP and PTH to the combined Schwartz and quadratic formulas improved the variance slightly. NGAL and albumin failed to improve the prediction of GFR further. These study results also confirm that the addition of cystatin C improves the performance of estimating GFR formulas, in particular the Schwartz formula.Conclusion: The addition of serum NGAL, BNP, PTH, and albumin to the combined Schwartz and quadratic formulas for estimating GFR did not improve GFR prediction in our population. What is Known:• Estimating glomerular filtration rate (GFR) formulas include serum creatinine and/or cystatin C but lack precision when compared to measured GFR.• The serum concentrations of some biological parameters such as neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), parathyroid hormone (PTH), albumin, and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) vary with the level of renal function. What is New:• The addition of BNP and PTH to the combined quadratic formula improved its performance only slightly. NGAL and albumin failed to improve the prediction of GFR further.

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Pathogenesis and Assessment of Renal Function in Patients With Liver Cirrhosis

Folia Medica ◽

10.2478/v10153-011-0100-z ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 54 (4) ◽

pp. 5-13 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Bilyana H. Teneva

Keyword(s):

Renal Function ◽

Liver Cirrhosis ◽

Glomerular Filtration Rate ◽

Serum Creatinine ◽

Glomerular Filtration ◽

Filtration Rate ◽

Serum Markers ◽

Meld Score ◽

Kidney Damage ◽

Early Assessment

Abstract In liver cirrhosis patients awaiting liver transplantation, it is prognostically equally important to assess the renal function before and after transplantation. This is evidenced by the inclusion of serum creatinine in the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score. Most of the causes of renal failure in liver cirrhosis are functional, the acute kidney damage including prerenal azotemia, acute tubular necrosis and hepatorenal syndrome. A major index of the renal function, the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is determined in a specific way in patients with liver cirrhosis. Clinically, serum creatinine is considered the best indicator of kidney function, although it is rather unreliable when it comes to early assessment of renal dysfunction. Most of the patients with liver cirrhosis have several concomitant conditions, which are the reason for the false low creatinine levels, even in the presence of moderate to severe kidney damage. This also holds for the creatinine clearance and creatinine-based estimation equations for assessment of the glomerular filtration rate (the Cockroft-Gault and MDRD formulas), which overestimate the real glomerular filtration. Clearance of exogenous markers is considered a gold standard, but the methods for their determination are rather costly and hard to apply. Alternative serum markers (e.g., cystatin C) have been used, but they should be better studied in cases of liver cirrhosis assessment.

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