Evaluation of urinary enzymes in newborns treated with gentamicin

In recent years, there has been an increasing amount of study on early diagnosis of kidney injury through sensitive and specific biomarkers. We examined the practical applicability of the urinary levels of NAG (N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase), AP (alkaline phosphatase), and LDH (lactate dehydrogenase) as renal dysfunction screening biomarkers in full and pre-term newborns treated with gentamicin. Fourteen pre-term and fifteen full-term newborns who received gentamicin for suspected infections were enrolled. Serum and urine specimens were obtained before the zero days and after gentamicin infusion on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th days of treatment. In full-term newborns a significant increase in urinary NAG, LDH, AP after 5 days of gentamicin administration compared with control group was noted (P<0.05, PP<0.01; respectively). Our findings indicate that urinary enzymes may be useful in full-term newborns as a non-invasive method for evaluation of tubular function.