Evaluation of Renal Function Profile in Human Visceral Leishmaniasis (Kala-Azar) Patients: A Case of Western Tigray, Ethiopia

• Main Authors: Asfaw KG, Gizaw ST, Gnanasekaran N
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2023
• Subjects: visceral leishmaniasis; renal function test; creatinine; urea; glomerular filtration rate; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic; Azar
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/4eb0edacc89949de964a9056dad788d2

Kibrom Gerezgiher Asfaw,1 Solomon Tebeje Gizaw,1 Natesan Gnanasekaran1,2 1Department of Medical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 2Regan Institute of Metabolic Therapy, Rasipuram Tk, Namakkal Dt, Tamilnadu, IndiaCorrespondence: Solomon Tebeje Gizaw, Tel [phone], Email [e-mail]: Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne protozoan infection that has a wide clinical spectrum in the tropics and subtropics. Kidney damage is frequently associated with increased morbidity and mortality in visceral leishmaniasis (VL) patients. However, up to date, there is a very limited report on the effect of visceral leishmaniasis on kidney function profiling in Ethiopia.Objective: To evaluate the renal function profile in human visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar) patients.Materials and Methods: Human blood was taken from VL patients (n = 100) and healthy controls (n = 100) attending Kahsay Abera and Mearg Hospitals, Western Tigray of Ethiopia. Serum was separated according to the conventional protocol and kidney function profiling (creatinine, urea, and uric acid) was analyzed by Mindray 200E automated chemistry analyzer. The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was also assessed in this study. The obtained data were processed using SPSS Version 23.0. Descriptive statistics, independent-test, and bivariate correlations were used for data analysis. P values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant at a 95% confidence level.Results: The mean serum creatinine level was found significantly higher, while respective serum urea and eGFR were significantly lower in VL patients compared to healthy controls. Specifically, from 100 VL cases, an increased level of serum creatinine, urea, and uric acid was found in 10%, 9% and 15% VL cases, respectively; meanwhile, a decreased serum urea and eGFR have been reported from 33% to 44% VL cases, respectively.Conclusion: The finding of this study asserted that visceral leishmaniasis ...