Diagnostic value of serum C-reactive protein for septic acute kidney injury: a retrospective study

Abstract

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is often associated with adverse clinical outcomes and is difficult to diagnose in the early stages in septic patients. This study aims to investigate the correlation between serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and AKI severity diagnosis in the patients with sepsis. This retrospective study included 60 patients, who were divided into an AKI group and a non-AKI group. CRP levels were compared between the two groups. CRP was evaluated by analysis of the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (ROC, AUC=0.648, Z=1.965, P=0.0494, 95%CI 0.514-0.767). CRP levels were significantly different between the AKI group, 99.79(49.26-172.59) mg/L, and non-AKI group, 23.13(5.80-65.49), p=0.001, Z=-3.0409. CRP had a sensitivity of 55.26% and a specificity of 81.82% at the optimal cut-off value. Subsequent multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that CRP could predict AKI severity in septic patients (OR=1.01; 95%CI=1.00-1.02; P=0.001). High level of CRP correlates with more severe AKI in patients with sepsis. In conclusion, CRP could be an attractive predictor in early diagnosis of AKI in septic patients.