Serum Cystatin C Compared to Serum Creatinine as an Early Marker of Renal Failure

The main aim of this study whether serum cystatin C can detect early changes in development of acute kidney injury compared to serum creatinine in critically ill patients and to study the confounding factors that normally can interfere in the analysis of serum creatinine. Serum cystatin C showed a faster increase in critically ill patients who were in the early stages of acute kidney injury compared to serum creatinine. Serum cystatin C showed superior sensitivity in adolescents, adults and in aged peoples compared to serum creatinine in detecting acute kidney injury. Cystatin showed better sensitivity in classifying patients having acute kidney injury into Risk, Injury and Failure categories compared to creatinine. Cystatin C showed excellent diagnostic accuracy in detecting patients having renal injury than creatinine. Using cystatin C measurements, we can diagnose acute kidney injury early and start prompt intervention to prevent adverse outcomes, because such intervention drastically improves the outcomes of acute kidney injury. Cystatin C may be considered as an alternative and more accurate serum marker than serum creatinine in early detection of impairment of GFR. Future studies should focus on GFR staging by standardizing the definition of control groups and the cut-off values for Cystatin C and Creatinine, in order to provide the diagnostic basis for the clinical application of Cystatin C and Serum Creatinine for estimating GFR.