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World J Nephrol. Jun 25, 2026; 15(2): 117015
Published online Jun 25, 2026. doi: 10.5527/wjn.v15.i2.117015
Published online Jun 25, 2026. doi: 10.5527/wjn.v15.i2.117015
Pediatric cardiac surgery associated-acute kidney injury: Interleukin 18 as a new biomarker
Ronke Adunni Makinde, Abiodun Olabamiji Ajose, Abiodun Kofoworola Ajeigbe, Tewogbade Adeoye Adedeji, Department of Chemical Pathology, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, Ile ife 220282, Osun, Nigeria
Uvie Ufuoma Onakpoya, Olugbenga Olalekan Ojo, Department of Surgery, Cardiothoracic Unit, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, Ile ife 220282, Osun, Nigeria
Author contributions: Makinde RA contributed to conceptualization, original draft writing, and funding; Makinde RA and Ajose AO contributed to methodology; Makinde RA, Ajeigbe AK, and Onakpoya UU contributed to investigation; Ajose AO, Ajeigbe AK, Adedeji TA, Onakpoya UU, and Ojo OO revised the manuscript; Ajose AO and Ojo OO contributed to supervision; Ajose AO, Adedeji TA, and Onakpoya UU participated in project administration; Ajeigbe AK contributed to formal analysis; Ojo OO contributed to visualization. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: Ethical approval for this study was gotten from the hospital Ethical Committee (ERC/2020/03/16).
Clinical trial registration statement: The study is a longitudinal study but not a randomized clinical trial as such no intervention was done so the clinical trial registration statement is not applicable.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
CONSORT 2010 statement: It’s not applicable.
Data sharing statement: The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Access to the data will be provided in accordance with institutional and ethical guidelines, ensuring confidentiality and privacy of participants.
Corresponding author: Ronke Adunni Makinde, Consultant, Principal Investigator, Department of Chemical Pathology, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, Ilesa Road, Ile ife 220282, Osun, Nigeria. ronkeomoola@yahoo.com
Received: November 27, 2025
Revised: December 24, 2025
Accepted: February 6, 2026
Published online: June 25, 2026
Processing time: 198 Days and 21.9 Hours
Revised: December 24, 2025
Accepted: February 6, 2026
Published online: June 25, 2026
Processing time: 198 Days and 21.9 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: In the present study, we have shown that interleukin 18 had an earlier rise than the traditional creatinine in those patients who developed cardiac surgery associated acute kidney injury after open heart surgery, and that it is also a better diagnostic marker with its superior area under the curve value on receiver operating characteristic curve than creatinine, thus, our findings underscore the importance of using this biomarker in the diagnosis of cardiac surgery associated acute kidney injury for earlier diagnosis and improved patient outcome.