# Diagnostic value and prognostic significance of microRNA-210, serum creatinine, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, blood urea nitrogen, cystatin C, and sequential organ failure assessment scores in patients with sepsis-associated acute kidney injury

**Authors:** Zhikun Zhang, Zhaolong Zhang, Jian Liu, Lujun Qiao, Xiaoguang Fan

PMC · DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1671599 · Frontiers in Medicine · 2026-01-06

## TL;DR

This study finds that miR-210 and SOFA scores are useful for diagnosing and predicting outcomes in sepsis-related kidney injury.

## Contribution

The study identifies miR-210 and SOFA scores as novel biomarkers with high diagnostic and prognostic accuracy for sepsis-associated acute kidney injury.

## Key findings

- miR-210 showed the highest diagnostic accuracy with an AUC of 0.913.
- miR-210 and SOFA scores were significantly elevated in non-survivors.
- miR-210 and SOFA scores are strong predictors of prognosis in these patients.

## Abstract

Sepsis-associated acute kidney injury is common in critically ill patients and is strongly associated with adverse outcomes.

To explore the diagnostic value and prognostic significance of microRNA (miRNA) miR-210, serum creatinine (Scr), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), cystatin C (CysC), and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores in patients with sepsis-associated acute kidney injury.

This was a retrospective study.

This study was performed in the Department of Intensive Care Unit at Shengli Oilfield Central Hospital.

A total of 81 sepsis patients treated at our hospital from April to November 2021 were chosen and divided into two groups according to whether acute kidney injury was present.

The levels of miR-210, Scr, NGAL, BUN, CysC, and SOFA scores were detected, and an ROC curve was implemented to assess the diagnostic value. The risk factors influencing prognosis were assessed by binary logistic regression.

(1) Levels of miR-210, Scr, NGAL, BUN, CysC, and SOFA scores; (2) Diagnostic value of miR-210, Scr, NGAL, BUN, CysC, and SOFA scores; (3) Risk factors influencing the prognosis of patients with sepsis-associated acute kidney injury.

Compared with sepsis patients, levels of miR-210, Scr, NGAL, BUN, CysC, and SOFA scores in patients with sepsis-associated acute kidney injury were elevated (p < 0.001). The ROC curve indicated that miR-210 had the highest diagnostic value in patients with sepsis-associated acute kidney injury, with an AUC of 0.913 and sensitivity and specificity of 92.21 and 91.37%, respectively (p < 0.001). The expressions of miR-210, NGAL, CysC, and SOFA scores in the dead patients were significantly elevated compared to the survival cases (p < 0.05). MiR-210 levels and SOFA scores affected the prognosis of patients with sepsis-associated acute kidney injury.

Our study demonstrated that miR-210, Scr, NGAL, BUN, CysC, and SOFA scores had significant diagnostic value in patients with sepsis-associated acute kidney injury and that miR-210 and SOFA scores had good prognostic value.

## Linked entities

- **Genes:** MIR210 (microRNA 210) [NCBI Gene 406992]
- **Proteins:** LCN2 (lipocalin 2), cysC (adenylyl-sulfate kinase)

## Full-text entities

- **Genes:** CST3 (cystatin C) [NCBI Gene 1471] {aka ADLDWA, ARMD11, HEL-S-2}, MIR210 (microRNA 210) [NCBI Gene 406992] {aka MIRN210, mir-210}, LCN2 (lipocalin 2) [NCBI Gene 3934] {aka 24p3, MSFI, NGAL, p25}
- **Diseases:** organ failure (MESH:D009102), Sepsis (MESH:D018805), critically ill (MESH:D016638), acute kidney injury (MESH:D058186)
- **Chemicals:** Scr (-), creatinine (MESH:D003404)
- **Species:** Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606]

## Full text

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## Figures

6 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12816257/full.md

## References

48 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12816257/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12816257