Abstract: Objective  To explore the value of urinary liver fatty acid binding protein (uLFABP) in early prediction of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF).Methods  A total of 57 patients with ADHF were enrolled. According to AKI diagnostic criteria, all patients were divided into two groups: AKI group and nonAKI group. Serum creatinine (Cr) and uLFABP levels were measured at admission and 12, 24 and 48 hours after admission. According to the ROC curve, the diagnostic boundary, sensitivity, specificity, and area under the ROC curve (AUC) were diagnosed by uLFABP at 12 h, 24 h, and 48 h. Results  The uLFABP level of AKI patients was significantly higher than that of nonAKI patients（P<0.01）. The ROC curve analysis showed that uLFABP reached an area of 0.785 at the cutoff point of  63.28  μg/g·Cr at the time 12 h after admission, and the sensitivity and specificity reached 83% and 84%, respectively. And it gradually increased with time. The ROC curve analysis showed that uLFABP reached an area of  0.876  at the cutoff point of  86.12  μg/g·Cr at the time 24 h after admission, the sensitivity reached 85%, and the specificity reached 88%. The ROC curve analysis showed that uLFABP reached an area of  0.911  at the cutoff point of  105.30 μg/g·Cr at the time 48 h after admission, the sensitivity reached 94%, and the specificity reached 89%.Conclusion  Urinary uLFABP can be used as an effective marker for early prediction of AKI in ADHF patients. Urinary uLFABP can predict AKI earlier than traditional indicators of SCr.

Key words: heart failure, acute kidney injury, liver fatty acid binding protein