Biomarkers of Acute Renal Failure

RBC Cast

August 2009

This is an example of a red blood cell cast. The red cells can be differentiated by their clear outline, which is most clearly seen in the middle of the cast. A red cell cast should indicate ongoing glomerulonephritis. In this circumstance, one might also expect to find free red cells in the urine. Sometimes these red cells become damaged while being squeezed through glomerular holes and end up dysmorphic or misshapen. In addition to red cells and red cell casts, one would expect to find abnormal amounts of urinary protein and albumin in patients with glomerulonephritis.

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• Introduction
• Acute Kidney Injury
• Common Causes of Acute
• Progression From Pre-renal to Acute Tubular Necrosis
• Towards a Kidney Troponin
• Origin of Formed Elements in Urinalysis
• Urinanalysis: A Traditional Biomarker of AKI
• Hyaline Casts
• Renal Epithelial Cell Cast
• Leukocyte Cast
• RBC Cast
• Pigmented Cast
• Granular Cast
• Other Helpful Indices
• Potential Sources of Urinary Biomarkers
• NGAL as a Biomarker
• Studies Support NGAL as a Biomarker of AKI in the Following Situations
• Mayo Renal Laboratory Urinary NGAL Normals
• Normal Urinary NGAL Levels are Not Dependent on Age, but are Higher in Women than Men
• Ongoing Mayo Clinic Clinical Validation Study
• Ongoing Mayo Clinic Clinical Validation Study: Preliminary Results
• Study
• Other Potential Markers on the Horizon
• Mayo Clinic Goals
• Conclusions
• References
• Questions?