OBJECTIVE: To explore the risk factors for poor prognosis in sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (SA-AKI) and establish a nomogram predictive model. METHODS: The clinical data of patients with SA-AKI admitted to the department of critical care medicine of Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University from January 2019 to September 2022 were retrospectively analyzed, including demographic information, worst values of blood cell counts and biochemical indicators within 24 hours of SA-AKI diagnosis, whether the patient received renal replacement therapy (RRT), mechanical ventilation, vasopressor therapy during hospitalization, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II), sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA), fibrinogen-to-albumin ratio (FAR) within 24 hours of diagnosis, acute kidney injury (AKI) staging, total length of hospital stay, length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, and others. According to the 28-day outcome, the patients were divided into survival group and death group, and the indicators between the two groups were compared. Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analyses were used to screen for risk factors associated with mortality in SA-AKI patients. A nomogram predictive model for SA-AKI prognosis was constructed based on the identified risk factors. Receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC curve) and calibration plots were generated to evaluate the predictive value of the nomogram model for SA-AKI prognosis. RESULTS: A total of 113 SA-AKI patients were included, with 67 in the survival group and 46 in the death group. The 28-day mortality among SA-AKI patients was 40.7%. The comparison between the two groups showed that there were statistically significant differences in age ≥ 65 years, AKI stage, mechanical ventilation, vasopressors, RRT, length of ICU stay, and laboratory indicators cystatin C (Cys C), fibrinogen (Fib), and FAR. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that age ≥ 65 years [odds ratio (OR) = 7.967, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 1.803-35.203, P = 0.006], cystatin C (OR = 7.202, 95%CI was 1.756-29.534, P = 0.006), FAR (OR = 2.444, 95%CI was 1.506-3.968, P < 0.001), and RRT (OR = 7.639, 95%CI was 1.391-41.951, P = 0.019) were independent risk factors for mortality in SA-AKI patients. ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the ROC curve (AUC) for age ≥ 65 years, cystatin C, FAR, and RRT in predicting SA-AKI patient mortality were 0.713, 0.856, 0.911, and 0.701, respectively. A nomogram predictive model for SA-AKI patient prognosis was constructed based on age ≥ 65 years, cystatin C, FAR, and RRT, with an AUC of 0.967 (95%CI was 0.932-1.000) according to ROC curve analysis. The calibration plot indicated good consistency between predicted and actual probabilities. CONCLUSIONS Age ≥ 65 years, cystatin C, FAR, and RRT are independent risk factors for mortality in SA-AKI patients. The nomogram predictive model based on these four factors can accurately predict SA-AKI patient prognosis, helping physicians adjust treatment strategies in a timely manner and improve patient outcomes.
Humans ; Aged ; Cystatin C ; Retrospective Studies ; Intensive Care Units ; Sepsis/diagnosis* ; Acute Kidney Injury/therapy* ; Prognosis ; ROC Curve ; Fibrinogen

OBJECTIVES: Serum cystatin C (Cys C) and blood lipid levels are related to the occurrence and development of chronic heart failure (CHF). However, there are few reports on the correlation between blood lipid level and serum Cys C level in patients with CHF. The aim of this study is to explore the correlation between serum Cys C level and blood lipid level in patients with CHF, and to provide valuable reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment of CHF. METHODS: A total of 336 CHF patients who were hospitalized in the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine of Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital from October 2017 to July 2018 were included and they were divided into a Cys C normal group (n=180) and a Cys C abnormal group (n=156) according to serum Cys C level of the patients. The general data, laboratory indicators, and cardiac ultrasound results were compared between the 2 groups. Pearson correlation analysis was used to detect the correlation between serum Cys C level and blood lipid level and other factors, and the data related to Cys C were further analyzed by multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: Compared with the Cys C normal group, patients in the Cys C abnormal group had lower left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (P<0.001), older age (P=0.030), higher incidence rate of diabetes and smoking index (P=0.002 and P=0.003, respectively). The levels of serum creatinine (SCr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and total bilirubin (TBIL) were higher (all P<0.001), while the levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL), apolipoprotein (Apo) A, and albumin (ALB) were lower (P<0.001, P=0.001, and P=0.003, respectively) in the Cys C abnormal group. Pearson correlation analysis showed that serum Cys C level was negatively correlated with platelet count, HDL, Apo A, ALB, and LVEF. It was positively correlated with smoking index, mean platelet volume, neutrophil ratio, BUN, and TBIL (all P<0.05). The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the decreased HDL level was a risk factor for the abnormality of serum Cys C in patients with CHF (OR=0.119, P=0.003), while Apo A was not a risk factor for its abnormality (P=0.337). CONCLUSIONS HDL might be the only blood lipid index associated with abnormal serum Cys C in patients with CHF.
Humans ; Stroke Volume ; Cystatin C ; Ventricular Function, Left ; Heart Failure ; Lipids ; Chronic Disease

Biomarkers ; Cystatin C ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain ; Peptide Fragments ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies

INTRODUCTION: Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is a serious complication of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The most important predictor of CIN is renal function before PCI. Serum creatinine (SCr) is a commonly used biomarker of renal function, but an elevation in SCr lags behind the onset of kidney injury and is not viable for early detection of CIN after PCI. Our primary objective was to investigate whether preoperative cystatin C (CysC) before PCI was an early predictor of postoperative CIN. The secondary objective was to evaluate associations between preoperative CysC and renal biomarkers. METHODS: From December 2014 to December 2015, 341 patients with normal renal function were enrolled into the study at our medical centre. All patients were apportioned to normal CysC (≤1.03 mg/L) or high CysC (>1.03 mg/L) groups before PCI and were hydrated from four hours prior to PCI to 24 hours after it. Renal function was monitored at 48 hours after PCI. Clinical parameters were recorded before and after PCI. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in preoperative SCr between the CIN and non-CIN groups. However, preoperative CysC demonstrated significant difference between the two groups (p <0.01). Logistic regression analysis showed that elevated CysC before PCI was a risk factor for CIN (p = 0.013). Furthermore, the linear regression models identified an association between CysC before PCI and renal function after PCI. CONCLUSION CysC before PCI was viable as a biomarker of renal function after PCI and high preoperative CysC was able to predict CIN earlier than SCr.
Humans ; Biomarkers/blood* ; Contrast Media/adverse effects* ; Coronary Angiography ; Creatinine/blood* ; Cystatin C/blood* ; Kidney Diseases/diagnosis* ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression level and prognostic value of miR-21, miR-18a, miR-146a, and Let-7b derived from serum exosomes in patients with multiple myeloma (MM). METHODS: Serum exosomes were extracted from 57 MM patients and 20 healthy persons using ExoQuick exosome precipitation solution kit, and the relative expression level of miR-21, miR-18a, miR-146a, and Let-7b derived from serum exosomes was measured by RT-qPCR. Correlations of the expression levels of all miRNAs mentioned above with routine laboratory parameters were analyzed by Spearman correlation analysis. The relationship between the expression level of miR-21, miR-18a, miR-146a, and Let-7b derived from serum exosomes and overall survival of patients with MM was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier survival curve. RESULTS: The expression levels of miR-21, miR-18a, and Let-7b derived from serum exosomes in patients with MM were significantly lower than those in the normal control group (P<0.001), while the expression level of miR-146a between the two groups was not significantly different (P>0.05). The expression level of miR-21 was strongly negatively correlated with serum β₂-microglobulin concentration (r=-0.830), and weakly negatively correlated with serum creatinine, corrected serum calcium, and cystatin C (r=-0.488, -0.282, -0.627). The expression levels of Let-7b and miR-18a were also weakly negatively correlated with the corrected serum calcium, β₂-microglobulin, and cystatin C concentration (r=-0.305, -0.362, -0.461; -0.317, -0.542, -0.434). However, there was no significant correlation between the expression level of miR-146a and routine laboratory parameters in MM patients. The overall survival rate of MM patients with low expression level of miR-21, miR-18a, and Let-7b significantly decreased compared with high expression level group (P<0.05), however, the expression level of miR-146a was not related to the overall survival rate. CONCLUSION Aberrant low expression levels of miR-21, miR-18a, and Let-7b derived from serum exosomes exist in patients with MM, which are associated with a worse overall survival rate.
Calcium/metabolism* ; Creatinine/metabolism* ; Cystatin C/metabolism* ; Exosomes/metabolism* ; Humans ; MicroRNAs/metabolism* ; Multiple Myeloma/metabolism*

Objective To investigate the relationship between serum cystatin C(CysC)level and vascular complications in type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM)patients with normal renal function. Methods Totally 218 T2DM patients who were treated in the Department of Endocrinology,Affiliated Hospital of Chengde Medical College from January 2017 to May 2018 were enrolled.All subjects were divided into four groups based on the quartiles of serum CysC levels:G1 group:≤ 0.56 mg/L,58 cases;G2 group:0.57-0.73 mg/L,52 cases;G3 group:0.74-1.11 mg/L,56 cases;G4 group:≥ 1.12 mg/L,52 cases.The general data,biochemical indicators,glycated albumin,hemoglobin A
Biomarkers/blood* ; Cardiovascular Diseases/complications* ; Cystatin C/blood* ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/complications* ; Humans ; Kidney ; Risk Factors

BACKGROUND: Accurate estimation of the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and staging of chronic kidney disease (CKD) are important. Currently, there is no research on the differences in several estimated GFR equations for staging CKD in a large sample of centenarians. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the differences in CKD staging with the most commonly used equations and to analyze sources of discrepancy. METHODS: A total of 966 centenarians were enrolled in this study from June 2014 to December 2016 in Hainan province, China. The GFR with the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD), Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) and Berlin Initiative Study 1 (BIS1) equations were estimated. Agreement between these equations was investigated with the κ statistic and Bland-Altman plots. Sources of discrepancy were investigated by partial correlation analysis. RESULTS: The κ values of the MDRD and CKD-EPI equations, MDRD and BIS1 equations, and CKD-EPI and BIS1 equations were 0.610, 0.253, and 0.381, respectively. Serum creatinine (Scr) explained 10.96%, 41.60% and 17.06% of the variability in these three comparisons, respectively. Serum uric acid (SUA) explained 3.65% and 5.43% of the variability in the first 2 comparisons, respectively. Gender was associated with significant differences in these 3 comparisons (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS The strengths of agreement between the MDRD and CKD-EPI equations were substantial, but those between the MDRD and BIS1 equations and the CKD-EPI and BIS1 equations were fair. The difference in CKD staging of the first 2 comparisons strongly depended on Scr, SUA and gender, and that of CKD-EPI and BIS1 equations strongly depended on Scr and gender. The incidence at various stages of CKD staging was quite different. Thus, a new equation that is more suitable for the elderly needs to be built in the future.
Aged, 80 and over ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Creatinine ; blood ; Cystatin C ; blood ; Female ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; physiology ; Humans ; Male ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic ; blood ; physiopathology ; Uric Acid ; blood

We have previously reported that Cystatin C (CysC) is a pivotal mediator in the neuroprotection induced by hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) preconditioning; however, the underlying mechanism and how CysC changes after stroke are not clear. In the present study, we demonstrated that CysC expression was elevated as early as 3 h after reperfusion, and this was further enhanced by HBO preconditioning. Concurrently, LC3-II and Beclin-1, two positive-markers for autophagy induction, exhibited increases similar to CysC, while knockdown of CysC blocked these elevations. As a marker of autophagy inhibition, p62 was downregulated by HBO preconditioning and this was blocked by CysC knockdown. Besides, the beneficial effects of preserving lysosomal membrane integrity and enhancing autolysosome formation induced by HBO preconditioning were abolished in CysC rats. Furthermore, we demonstrated that exogenous CysC reduced the neurological deficits and infarct volume after brain ischemic injury, while 3-methyladenine partially reversed this neuroprotection. In the present study, we showed that CysC is biochemically and morphologically essential for promoting autophagic flux, and highlighted the translational potential of HBO preconditioning and CysC for stroke treatment.
Animals ; Autophagy ; physiology ; Beclin-1 ; metabolism ; Brain ; metabolism ; pathology ; Brain Ischemia ; metabolism ; pathology ; therapy ; Cystatin C ; genetics ; metabolism ; Disease Models, Animal ; Gene Expression ; Gene Knockdown Techniques ; Hyperbaric Oxygenation ; Lysosomes ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Microtubule-Associated Proteins ; metabolism ; Neurons ; metabolism ; pathology ; Neuroprotection ; physiology ; Oxygen ; therapeutic use ; Random Allocation ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rats, Transgenic ; Reperfusion Injury ; metabolism ; pathology ; therapy

Renal cortical necrosis (RCN) is patchy or diffuse ischemic destruction of the renal cortex caused by significantly reduced renal arterial perfusion. It is a rare cause of acute kidney injury (AKI) and is associated with high mortality. Here, we review the case of RCN in a 15-year-old boy who developed AKI. A 15-year-old boy was referred to our hospital from a local hospital due to a sharp decrease in his renal function. He presented with acute flank pain, nausea with vomiting, and oliguria for the past two days. He had taken a single dose of antihistamine for nasal congestion. At our hospital, his peak blood pressure was 148/83 mmHg and he had a high body mass index of 32.9 kg/m². The laboratory data showed a blood urea nitrogen (BUN) of 28.4 mg/dL, a creatinine of 4.26 mg/dL, and a glomerular filtration rate estimated from the serum cystatin C of 20.2 mL/min/1.73m². Proteinuria (spot urine protein to creatinine ratio 1.66) with pyuria was observed. Kidney sonography showed parenchymal swelling and increased renal echogenicity. Due to rapidly progressing nephritis, steroid pulse therapy (750 mg/IV) was done on the second day of his admission and the patient showed complete recovery with normal renal function. However, the kidney biopsy findings revealed renal cortical hemorrhagic necrosis. Multifocal, relatively well-circumscribed, hemorrhagic necrotic areas (about 25%) were detected in the tubulointerstitium. Although RCN is an unusual cause of AKI, especially in children, pediatricians should consider the possibility of RCN when evaluating patients with rapidly decreasing renal function.
Acute Kidney Injury ; Adolescent ; Biopsy ; Blood Pressure ; Blood Urea Nitrogen ; Body Mass Index ; Child ; Creatinine ; Cystatin C ; Estrogens, Conjugated (USP) ; Flank Pain ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Humans ; Kidney ; Kidney Cortex Necrosis ; Male ; Mortality ; Nausea ; Necrosis ; Nephritis ; Obesity ; Oliguria ; Perfusion ; Proteinuria ; Pyuria ; Vomiting

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is one of the major causes of chronic diseases. The effect on high blood pressure (BP) with fetal growth restriction is now well-established. Recent studies suggest that a reduced number of nephrons programmed during the intrauterine period contribute to a subsequently elevated BP, due to a permanent nephron deficit. However, few studies have examined this in children. We investigated the effects of low birth weight (LBW) and preterm birth on the renal function markers related to a high BP in childhood. METHODS: We used data from 304 children aged 7–12 years who participated in the 2014 Ewha Birth and Growth Cohort survey in Korea. We assessed the serum uric acid, cystatin C, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine levels, and the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in childhood. Anthropometric characteristics, BP in childhood, birth weight and gestational age were collected. RESULTS: The serum uric acid was significantly higher in LBW children (4.0 mg/dL) than in normal birth weight children (3.7 mg/dL). The cystatin C levels were highest among children who were very preterm (0.89 mg/dL) compared with those who were not (preterm, 0.84 mg/dL; normal, 0.81 mg/dL), although the result was only borderline significant (P for trend = 0.06). Decreased birth weight was found to be significantly associated with an increased serum BUN level in childhood. In the analysis of the effects of renal function on BP, subjects with an eGFR lower than the median value had a significantly higher diastolic BP in childhood (difference = 2.4 mmHg; P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that LBW and preterm birth are risk factors for increased serum levels of renal function markers in childhood. Reduced eGFR levels were significantly associated with elevated diastolic BP in childhood. It is necessary to identify vulnerable individuals during their life and intervene appropriately to reduce the risk of an increased BP in the future.
Birth Weight ; Blood Pressure ; Blood Urea Nitrogen ; Child ; Chronic Disease ; Cohort Studies ; Creatinine ; Cystatin C ; Fetal Development ; Gestational Age ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Infant, Low Birth Weight ; Infant, Newborn ; Korea ; Nephrons ; Parturition ; Premature Birth ; Renal Insufficiency ; Risk Factors ; Uric Acid