Urinary beta-2 microglobulin as an early predictive biomarker of acute kidney injury in neonates with perinatal asphyxia.

To evaluate the role of urinary beta-2 microglobulin (B2mG) as an early predictive biomarker of acute kidney injury (AKI) in neonates with perinatal asphyxia. In this prospective cohort study, 80 term infants with perinatal asphyxia were included. The neonates were divided into AKI and no-AKI groups. Urinary B2mG levels were measured at 24 h of life. The diagnostic efficacy of the biomarker was determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Compared to infants without AKI, infants with AKI had higher levels of urinary B2mG (mean 6.8 versus 2.6 mg/L, p < 0.001). Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve) was 0.944. The balanced sensitivity/specificity trade-off was found at a cut-off value of 3.8 mg/L (81% sensitive and 81.6% specific).Conclusion Urinary B2mG can be useful to predict AKI early in term neonates with perinatal asphyxia. What is Known: • AKI is seen in 20-40% of neonates with asphyxia. • AKI affects the treatment plan and the prognosis of such neonates. What is New: • Urinary biomarkers are the easiest way to diagnose AKI in asphyxiated neonates. • Beta 2 microglobulin is the cheapest and readily available one such urinary biomarker with good sensitivity and specificity.