NGAL as biomarker of renal damage in patients with ureteric colic V1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
‘Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) as biomarker of renal damage in patients with ureteric colic – a pilot study’
IRAS ID
171908
Contact name
Marco Bolgeri
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Dartford & Gravesham NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 9 days
Research summary
The study looks into the possible utilization of a protein named NGAL to assess and predict renal injury in patients presenting to the emergency department with a stone in the ureter (the drainage tube of the kidney). Current criteria to assess renal damage and whether these patients need immediate intervention or can be managed conservatively are imperfect and can lead to a delayed diagnosis. There is significant evidence in the literature that the NGAL protein offers the opportunity of an early diagnosis (and therefore intervention) in renal damage caused by several acute illnesses affecting the kidneys, however its application in patients with stones has not been studied. Through collection of blood and urine samples at various points in time during hospital admission, we are looking to assess the behaviour of NGAL in response to renal obstruction caused by stones and to the intervention to address the obstruction. The main aim is to first of all to establish whether NGAL levels are raised in these patients, i.e. if this protein can be utilized to study renal damage in this particular condition. If this is the case, we plan to correlate the extent of NGAL raise (i.e. of renal injury) to other clinical factors (for example size and location of the stone) to more accurately identify the subgroup of patients at higher risk, who may benefit from immediate intervention.
REC name
East of England - Cambridge Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/EE/0085
Date of REC Opinion
16 Mar 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion