Abstract
BACKGROUND: The perioperative management of renal transplantation is complex. Our research aimed to study the clinical value of cystatin-C (Cys-C) and urinary and serum neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) during the perioperative period of renal transplantation. METHODS: We collected the clinical information of 47 renal transplantation patients. Urine and serum samples were collected daily until the second week and then weekly until discharge to determine serum NGAL (s-NGAL), urine NGAL (u-NGAL), serum creatinine (s-Cr), and Cys-C levels. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used, and the area under the curve (AUC) was compared to evaluate the accuracy of the diagnosis of delayed graft function (DGF). Multivariable analysis was used to find the association between the markers and renal function at discharge. RESULTS: In our research, the value of Cys-C, serum NGAL, and urine NGAL were higher in DGF group. In the ROC analysis, Cys-C had the highest AUC (0.939) compared with s-NGAL (0.909), u-NGAL (0.856), and s-Cr (0.747). Multivariable analysis showed that Cys-C levels in the first week after the operation and cold ischemia time were independently associated with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at discharge (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that Cys-C, serum NGAL, and urine NGAL could reflect renal function sensitively. Cys-C had the highest sum of sensitivity and specificity at 4.77 mg/L, with a sensitivity of 0.818 and specificity of 0.889. The Cys-C level during the first week after the operation was independently associated with eGFR at discharge and could predict the short-term prognosis of renal transplantation patients.