Cystatin C and Neutrophil Gelatin-associated Lipocalin (NGAL) Can Predict Acute Kidney Injury and In-Hospital Mortality in COVID-19 Patients

Background: prediction and early diagnosis of acute kidney injury (aki) in critically ill coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) patients are of great importance. therefore, using promising renal biomarkers such as cystatin c and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (ngal) to identify the risk of future aki is crucial.materials and methods: a total of 89 adult patients with covid-19 were included in this study. serum cystatin c and ngal concentration were assessed on intensive care unit (icu) admission then repeated after 48 hours. serum creatinine was followed for 7 days to report the development of aki.results: among the covid-19 patients, 28.1% developed aki. although admission serum creatinine was not significantly different between the aki group and the non-aki group (p=0.375), admission cystatin c (p=0.018), and ngal (p<0.001) were significantly different between both groups. after 48 hours, a change in cystatin c level (p<0.001) but not ngal (p=0.4) was a predictor for aki. logistic regression model including age (p=0.031), cystatin c on 48 hrs (p=0.003) and ngal on admission (p=0.015) could predict aki in covid-19 patients.conclusion: serum cystatin c and ngal in icu could be used to predict aki in covid-19 patients. a logistic regression model including age, cystatin c on 48hrs, and ngal on admission might be a tool for individualized risk estimation of aki in covid-19 patients.