Protein Kinase N1 Level Predicts Acute Kidney Injury in Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is one of the most frequent major complications in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. The incidence of cardiac surgery-associated AKI (CSA-AKI) varies from 5% to 42% and is the second leading cause of AKI (after sepsis) in the intensive care unit (ICU). CSA-AKI is independently related to increased perioperative mortality, increased hospital and ICU length of stay as well as heath care expenditure. Early detection of CSA-AKI could improve patient outcomes and health care costs through targeted interventions. Thus, identification of relevant biomarkers may lead to early diagnosis. The pathophysiology of CSA-AKI is complex and ischemia-reperfusion injury is one of the important factors. Recently, it has been shown that Protein kinase N1 (PKN1) is associated with ischemia-reperfusion injury. Nowadays, little is known about relationship between PKN1 and CSA-AKI. In this study, relationship between PKN1 with the risk of CSA-AKI was analyzed and the predictive value of elevated level of PKN1 for early prediction of CSA-AKI was further evaluated.