Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin as a potential biomarker for pulmonary thromboembolism

Abstract

Objective: Pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) is a clinical condition that can be lethal unless promptly diagnosed and treated. the objective was to evaluate the significance of scrum neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) in the diagnosis of PTE. Materials and methods: in this study, 60 patients hospitalized for acute PTE between May 2015 and December 2016 were enrolled. PTE was diagnosed using spiral computed tomography angiography of the thorax. Cardiac enzyme levels, arterial blood gas, and echocardiography measurements were performed. Whole blood samples were drawn to measure serum NGAL before treatment. Results: the PTE group comprised 34 women and 26 men, and the healthy control group included 22 women and 18 men. the mean ages of the patient and control groups were 70.3 +/- 14.4 years and 69.0 +/- 10.2 years, respectively. Serum NGAL was significantly higher in the patients than in the controls (88.6 +/- 33.6 vs. 31.7 +/- 10.0 ng/mL, p < 0.001, respectively). the optimal NGAL cut-off value was >50 ng/mL, the sensitivity was 100%, specificity was 98.3%, the negative predictive value was 100%, and the positive predictive value was 68%. Conclusion: Scrum NGAL is a new biomarker with high sensitivity and specificity to detect, diagnose, and exclude PTE.