Advances in the Diagnosis and Management of Kidney Diseases—2nd Edition

A special issue of Diagnostics (ISSN 2075-4418). This special issue belongs to the section "Clinical Diagnosis and Prognosis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025 | Viewed by 3955

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Nephrology, School of Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 35015, Republic of Korea
Interests: hemodialysis; clinical nephrology; dialysis; chronic renal failure; kidney transplantation; acute kidney injury; hypertension; nephrotoxicity; chronic kidney failure; kidney
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We want to thank all our colleagues who contributed high-quality manuscripts to the previous Special Issue, titled “Advances in the Diagnosis and Management of Kidney Diseases”. The positive feedback and interest that we received encouraged us to launch a second volume, which focuses on the diagnosis of kidney diseases. 

Kidney disease appears in various forms: it can be asymptomatic or present with severe symptoms that require immediate intensive care with renal replacement therapy. Various kidney diseases can be evaluated through urinalysis, blood chemistry, chest PA, KUB, and renal sonography. Recently, research has been actively conducted on various types of biomarkers for the early detection of acute and chronic kidney damage; moreover, the discovery of new biomarkers through blood and pathology in the field of glomerular kidney disease has led to new diagnostic and management paradigms. Recently, rapidly developing medical diagnostic technology and the challenge of specialized targeted therapy based on disease mechanisms have been demonstrated through animal and clinical studies of kidney disease. 

This Special Issue seeks research on new discoveries in the diagnosis and management of kidney disease. We look forward to receiving original articles, reviews, and short communications that highlight research results for biomarkers in various fields, enhanced imaging technology, new pathologic diagnoses, new approaches to disease mechanisms, specialized targeted therapy, and the diagnosis and management of kidney diseases using artificial intelligence.

Dr. Daeeun Choi
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • kidney
  • nephrology
  • biomarker
  • prognosis
  • imaging
  • artificial intelligence
  • pathology

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 2184 KiB  
Article
Use of Injection of Hemostatic Gelfoam Mixture During Percutaneous Core Biopsy for Renal Tumors: A Comparative Retrospective Study of Outcomes Regarding Bleeding Complications, Hospital Stay, and Diagnostic Yield Accuracy
by Antonios Michailidis, Georgia Mingou, Eleni Tsakirmpaloglou, Panagiotis Kosmoliaptsis, Danae Makri, Ioannis Papadimitriou, George Dimou, Christos Giankoulof and Evangelos Petsatodis
Diagnostics 2025, 15(7), 836; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics15070836 - 25 Mar 2025
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Abstract
Background/Objectives: Percutaneous kidney biopsy (PKB) is a valuable diagnostic tool for evaluating renal masses and suspected renal cancer but carries a risk of hemorrhagic complications. This study aimed to determine whether injecting a hemostatic Gelfoam mixture into the biopsy tract reduces post-procedural bleeding [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Percutaneous kidney biopsy (PKB) is a valuable diagnostic tool for evaluating renal masses and suspected renal cancer but carries a risk of hemorrhagic complications. This study aimed to determine whether injecting a hemostatic Gelfoam mixture into the biopsy tract reduces post-procedural bleeding while maintaining diagnostic accuracy. Methods: This retrospective study included 500 patients who underwent PKB at our hospital between 2019 and 2024. Patients were equally divided into two groups: Group A (n = 250) received Gelfoam injection into the biopsy tract, and Group B (n = 250) underwent standard PKB without Gelfoam. Hemorrhagic complications were categorized as mild, mild–moderate, moderate, or severe based on immediate and 4-h post-procedure CT findings. Management protocols included same-day discharge for mild cases (with next-day re-evaluation) and 24-h observation for mild–moderate cases. Results: Group A had significantly fewer moderate–severe hemorrhages compared to Group B (1.3% vs. 4.0%, p = 0.034) and a higher rate of same-day discharge (84% vs. 40%, p < 0.05). These differences led to a notable reduction in total hospitalization days (43 vs. 167) and decreased overall costs. Diagnostic yield was similarly high in both groups (98.5% vs. 97.8%, p = 0.72). Conclusions: Gelfoam injection during PKB effectively reduces hemorrhagic complications and shortens hospital stay without compromising diagnostic accuracy. Routine use of Gelfoam—especially in high-risk patients—is supported by these findings, and further prospective studies are recommended to validate these results. Full article
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11 pages, 477 KiB  
Article
Impact of Handgrip Strength on Survival in Hemodialysis Patients
by Kyungho Park, Seongyeop Jeong, Hyerim Park, Eu Jin Lee, Young Rok Ham, Ki Ryang Na and Dae Eun Choi
Diagnostics 2025, 15(1), 75; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics15010075 - 31 Dec 2024
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Abstract
Background: Hemodialysis patients face a high mortality risk, requiring effective clinical assessments. In these patients, muscle wasting due to protein-energy wasting (PEW) leads to increased frailty, which is strongly associated with worse outcomes, including higher mortality. As muscle mass declines, so does [...] Read more.
Background: Hemodialysis patients face a high mortality risk, requiring effective clinical assessments. In these patients, muscle wasting due to protein-energy wasting (PEW) leads to increased frailty, which is strongly associated with worse outcomes, including higher mortality. As muscle mass declines, so does functional capacity, making regular assessment of both muscle mass and function critical for prognostic evaluation. Handgrip strength (HGS) offers a quick and reliable measure of muscle strength and functional capacity. In this study, we focused on the impact of HGS on survival in hemodialysis patients, analyzing its relationship with muscle mass and BMI. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 408 dialysis patients (221 males, 187 females) who underwent bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) and HGS assessments between March 2021 and August 2023. Data collected included BIS profiles, HGS, dialysis status, age, complete blood count, blood chemistry, mortality, and CONUT scores. Results: Cox proportional hazards regression analysis revealed that lean tissue index (LTI) (HR 3.30, 95% CI 1.75–6.19), body mass index (BMI) (HR 2.65, 95% CI 1.17–6.01), and handgrip strength (HGS) (HR 4.22, 95% CI 2.05–8.70) were significant predictors of survival in the overall dialysis patient cohort. Gender-specific analysis showed that in males, both LTI (HR 4.81, 95% CI 1.89–12.23) and HGS (HR 5.45, 95% CI 2.18–13.61) significantly predicted survival. In females, HGS (HR 6.01, 95% CI 2.42–14.94) was a significant predictor, while LTI was also significant (HR 3.22, 95% CI 1.24–8.40, p = 0.017). In the multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis, which adjusted for age, diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HTN), BMI, fat tissue index (FTI), LTI, serum albumin, C-reactive protein (CRP), and CONUT score, HGS remained a significant predictor of survival in female dialysis patients (HR 2.77, 95% CI 1.00–7.65, p = 0.049). Conclusions: HGS has been identified as an important factor for survival in dialysis patients, particularly in female patients, independent of muscle mass and BMI. Full article
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Review

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19 pages, 714 KiB  
Review
Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinases-2 (TIMP-2) as a Prognostic Biomarker in Acute Kidney Injury: A Narrative Review
by Charlotte Delrue and Marijn M. Speeckaert
Diagnostics 2024, 14(13), 1350; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14131350 - 25 Jun 2024
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2242
Abstract
Acute kidney damage (AKI) is a serious and common consequence among critically unwell individuals. Traditional biomarkers, such as serum creatinine, frequently fail to detect AKI in its early stages, necessitating the development of new accurate early biomarkers. Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 2 (TIMP-2) [...] Read more.
Acute kidney damage (AKI) is a serious and common consequence among critically unwell individuals. Traditional biomarkers, such as serum creatinine, frequently fail to detect AKI in its early stages, necessitating the development of new accurate early biomarkers. Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 2 (TIMP-2) has emerged as a promising biomarker for predicting early AKI. The present narrative review investigates the role of TIMP-2 in AKI prediction in a variety of clinical scenarios. In the NephroCheck® test, TIMP-2 exceeds established biomarkers for the early identification of AKI in terms of sensitivity and specificity when combined with insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 (IGFBP-7). Elevated levels of these biomarkers can provide a warning signal for AKI two to three days before clinical symptoms appear. TIMP-2 and IGFBP-7 have high predictive values, with an area under the curve (AUC) typically above 0.8, indicating good predictive capacity. For example, the [TIMP-2] × [IGFBP-7] product produced an AUC of 0.85 in surgical patients at high risk. In critically ill patients, a threshold of 0.3 (ng/mL)2/1000 demonstrated 92% sensitivity and 72% specificity. Elevated TIMP-2 levels have been correlated with higher mortality rates and the need for renal replacement therapy (RRT). In sepsis-associated AKI (SA-AKI), TIMP-2 levels combined with clinical prognostic models improved predictive accuracy (AUC: 0.822). Furthermore, elevated urine TIMP-2 levels were good predictors of AKI in pediatric patients after cardiac surgery, with AUC-ROC values of up to 0.848. Urine output and the presence of concomitant disorders may influence the prognostic accuracy of these biomarkers; therefore, more research is needed to fully understand their utility. The predictive value of TIMP-2 could be strengthened by combining it with other clinical parameters, reinforcing its role in the early detection and treatment of AKI. Full article
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