Background and study aim: Liver cirrhosis has many complications, hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) is one of the most serious complications of it. Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is a protein expressed by injured kidney tubular epithelia, urinary NGAL levels rise early in cases of acute kidney impairment before elevation of serum creatinine. The aim of this study is to evaluate NGAL as a biomarker for early detection of HRS in patients with hepatic cirrhosis.
Patients and methods: Seventy five patients were studied and divided into two groups, group (I) 50 patients with liver cirrhosis without impairment of kidney functions and group (II) 25 patients with cirrhosis and impaired kidney functions. Urinary NGAL level were measured by ELISA.
Results : The mean value of urinary NGAL level in patients with liver cirrhosis was 50 ± 33 ng/ml while in patients with cirrhosis and HRS was 750 ± 250 ng/ml which showed highly statistically significant difference between both groups of patients.
Conclusion : Urinary NGAL increases significantly in patients with liver cirrhosis associated with impairment of kidney function than in those with stable cirrhosis and normal kidney function, so it can be used as a marker for prediction of development of HRS in cirrhotic patients.