Alere test identifies severe acute kidney injury

The study assessed 632 critically ill patients and was published by the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, October 2010, using the test in the intensive care unit (ICU).

AKI occurs in up to 25 per cent of patients admitted to the ICU and therefore early identification is critical to preventing unnecessary complications, increased hospitalisation, associated costs, onset of critical illness and an increased risk of death.

However, identification can often occur too late.

Patients with AKI may suffer temporary or permanent loss of renal function that would need to be supported via dialysis on a short- or long-term basis.

Without early identification of AKI a substantial portion of kidney function may be lost prior to recognition.

'In critically ill patients AKI is a clear independent risk factor for increased mortality and accurate and early diagnosis of patients at high risk for development of AKI is of critical importance,' said Dr Hilde De Geus of the Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam in the Netherlands, where the study was conducted.

'This study shows that NGAL has a significant additional value combined with standard tests and sets the stage for further research for prediction of severe AKI,' added Geus.

The device used in the study, the Alere Triage NGAL test, is a point-of-care fluorescence immunoassay to be used with the Alere Triage Meter Pro for the rapid, quantitative determination of NGAL in EDTA anti-coagulated whole blood or plasma specimens.

The product bears the CE Mark, which expresses conformity with the requirements of the European IVD Directive and allows distribution within the European Union.

The tests are now available for commercial sale in Europe and will soon be available in many other countries around the world.

The Alere Triage NGAL Test is not currently available for purchase or use in the US.