High urinary excretion of kidney injury molecule-1 predicts adverse outcomes in acute kidney injury: a case control study

Background Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common clinical syndrome with poor prognosis. The insensitivity and non-specificity of traditional markers of renal dysfunction prevent timely estimation of the severity of renal injury, and the administration of possible therapeutic agents. Urinary kidney injury molecule-1 (uKIM-1) is a marker of epithelial injury of renal tubules. Different uKIM-1 levels are associated with various degrees of renal injury. This study sought to evaluate uKIM-1 as a predictor of renal prognosis by analyzing uKIM-1 levels in patients with AKI.