Novel acute kidney injury biomarkers and their utility in children and adolescents-overview.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) affects a significant percentage of the pediatric population. Currently, the diagnosis of AKI in children still uses traditional laboratory methods (ex. creatinine or urea serum concentration and measurement of urine output). It has significant limitations. Early stages of AKI in children may be almost asymptomatic. In-depth assessment with the pRIFLE scale is helpful, but requires bladder catheterization and precise monitoring of hourly diuresis, as well as multiple blood draws to determine changes in creatinine concentration and estimate glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). The diagnostic methods lack a marker that would the early and potentially reversible phase of kidney damage. This paper reviews recent data on selected AKI markers in children, including their diagnostic and prognostic potential.