Value of neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide, urea, and creatinine for the prediction of acute kidney injury in acute heart failure: a retrospective observational study

Objective:. Early identification of acute kidney injury (AKI) is essential to improve the prognosis of patients with acute heart failure (AHF). We aimed to determine the utility of neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), urea, and creatinine (Cr), as well as combinations of these, for the prediction of AKI in patients with AHF. Methods:. A total of 153 patients with AHF under the care of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University from October 2009 to October 2019 were included in this retrospective observational study. Their NLR, NT-proBNP, urea, and Cr concentrations were measured on admission. AKI was defined using the Acute Kidney Injury Network criteria. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, the areas under the curves (AUCs), sensitivity, and specificity were employed to evaluate the ability of each biomarker and their combinations to identify AKI. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University (approval No. SYSEC-KY-KS-2021-126) on June 22, 2021. Results:. Forty-six (30.1%) participants developed AKI during hospitalization. The NLR and NT-proBNP of the participants with AKI were higher than those without (NLR: median 7.886 vs 4.717, P