Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin discloses acute tubular injury after surgery in canine patients

Abstract

Canine patients needing surgical intervention are at risk of developing acute kidney injury, whose clinical manifestation it's late. The search for early diagnostic methods revealed the Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) as a novel biomarker for detecting acute tubular injury (ATI). Considering the hypothesis that dogs with cancer are more likely to develop ATI, related to the different interventions throughout the surgical process, a prospective longitudinal study (from the preoperative to the immediate postoperative period) of 17 clinically stable dogs indicated for surgical procedure. The serum creatinine, urinary density, and urinary protein-to-creatinine ratio, which are traditional indicators for kidney disease, the serum, and urine NGAL biomarkers, were evaluated. The sample collections were performed three times: 12 to 24 hours before surgery, 48 hours, and 96 hours after surgery. The results showed a significant increase in urinary NGAL in 11 of 17 dogs, 48 hours after surgery, while traditional markers showed no significant change, and no related clinical signs were observed. Thus, confirming the study's hypothesis, NGAL proved helpful for the early detection of silent events of attacks on renal tubular integrity.