The XpressCard Point-of-Care Test for Human Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin Enhances the Prediction of Acute Kidney Injury

Background/Objectives: Acute kidney injury (AKI), a common complication in hospitalized patients, is a clinical syndrome with a sudden and reversible decline in kidney function. Within hospitalization, the average incidence rate is 2% to 5%, and 67% of patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) acquire acute kidney injury. There is a pressing need to identify biomarkers that provide early detection to enhance the diagnosis of acute kidney injury. Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) has been identified as the most promising biomarker for predicting acute kidney injury due to upregulation as early as 2 h before kidney injury. Methods: Urine samples from 52 adult subjects were utilized to evaluate the accuracy of acute kidney injury diagnosis using the XpressCard for human NGAL. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated to analyze the validity of the NGAL XpressCard’s ability to accurately distinguish between acute and non-acute kidney injury. Results: The positive and negative predictive values were calculated to determine the prevalence of NGAL and predict the likelihood of diagnosing AKI. Data show that the NGAL XpressCard has a sensitivity and specificity of 59.3% and 95.8% and a positive and negative predictive value of 92.9% and 71.9%, respectively. Conclusions: The human NGAL XpressCard is effective at predicting AKI in hospitalized patients and correlates with high levels of HbA1c, which is associated with diabetes mellitus. It delivers immediate test results, which can enhance patient care.