Variation in performance of kidney injury biomarkers due to cause of acute kidney injury

摘要

Biomarker development recently has emerged as an active area of research in acute kidney injury (AKI). Recognizing the potential to revolutionize the conduct of clinical trials and deliver long-awaited therapeutic options to the field, researchers in nephrology have translated several biomarkers to various settings of human AKI, publishing more than 100 articles in the last decade. In this issue of AJKD, Liu et al present a systematic review and meta-analysis of the clinical studies of a well-known urine biomarker in AKI, interleukin 18 (IL-18). The authors identified 23 published studies of urine IL-18 that were conducted across 7 countries with more than 4,500 patient participants. Urine IL-18 also was tested across a broad range of clinical settings in both adults and children. In their review, Liu et al conclude that urine IL-18 level is a useful biomarker of AKI with moderate predictive value across all clinical settings.