Urinary N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase activity in liver cirrhosis with renal impairment

The renal tubular damage in liver cirrhosis was evaluated by measurement of urinary N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) activity in 32 patients with various stages of liver cirrhosis. The patients were divided to three groups (A, B, and C) according to Child's criterion and urinary NAG activity and renal function parameters were compared in these groups. As a result, urinary NAG activity in group C was significantly higher than group A and group B and slight elevation of serum BUN level and low creatinin clearance value were also observed in group C. In 8 patients who developed the renal failure in their clinical course the level of urinary NAG activity was markedly elevated in the early phase of renal failure. These results suggested that the measurement of urinary NAG activity was useful for early diagnosis of renal impairment in the cirrhotic patients.