Proenkephalin predicts acute kidney injury in cardiac surgery patients

Clinical Correlates and Prognostic Value of Proenkephalin in Acute and Chronic Heart Failure

“…In this study, baseline pro-ENK values were strongly associated with baseline creatinine. Pro-ENK levels were also associated with acute kidney injury after surgery, but did not outweigh creatinine 6 . These and our results showed that the association between pro-ENK and worsening renal function can be attributed to the significant association with creatinine, and pro-ENK by itself provides limited additive information to creatinine in terms of changes in renal function.…”

“…Due to the instability of enkephalins, a stable fragment of their precursor, termed pro-ENK, has been devised as stable and reliable Page 3 of 27 surrogate plasma marker 5 . In patients with acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery, pro-ENK was shown to rapidly increase 6 . In acute myocardial infarction, increased pro-ENK was associated with renal dysfunction and predicted major cardiac events 7 .…”

Proenkephalin for the early detection of acute kidney injury in hospitalized patients with chronic kidney disease

“…8 Spot measurements of PENK were recently shown to reflect renal function in healthy subjects, and elevated levels are independently associated with an accelerated decline in renal function and a progression to chronic kidney disease. 10 Hence, these data suggest that PENK levels might improve the early detection of AKI. For example, a small pilot study recently showed PENK levels to increase within 6 hours after cardiac surgery in patients experiencing postsurgical AKI, while simultaneously measured serum creatinine levels showed a delayed increase.…”

“…9 However, PENK is a dynamic parameter and its levels can significantly change within hours. 10,11 These previous studies predominantly included patients with preserved renal function, despite chronic kidney disease (CKD) being a powerful risk factor for the development of AKI. 10 Hence, these data suggest that PENK levels might improve the early detection of AKI.…”

Pro-enkephalin in plasma of surgical icu-patients with sepsis - a pilot study

“…Pro-ENK is a predictor for acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients after cardiac surgery and can detect severity of AKI in patients admitted to the emergency department with sepsis [2, 3]. In surgical ICU-patients with sepsis, information on the suitability of pro-ENK to determine kidney function is lacking.…”