Serum neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin concentrations are significantly associated with the severity of COVID-19 in pregnant patients

Objectives:To evaluate serum neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) concentrations of pregnant women complicated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and investigate its diagnostic value for the severity of COVID-19.Methods:Of the 46 pregnant women with COVID-19 included in the study, we further classified these women into 2 subgroups: the non-severe COVID-19 group (n=25) and the severe COVID-19 group (n=21).Results:Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin plasma concentrations were significantly higher in pregnant women complicated with severe COVID-19 (90 53.1-207.7] ng/ml) compared to those from pregnant women with non-severe COVID-19 (51.8 39.6-70.3] ng/ml) and healthy pregnant women (44.3 32.2-54.1] ng/ml, p<0.001). Also, at a cutoff value of 72 ng/ml, NGAL predicted severe COVID-19 with a sensitivity rate of 57% and a specificity rate of 84%. Serum NGAL level (adjusted hazard ratio aHR]=1.020, 95% confidence interval CI]= 1.006-1.035], p=0.007), and D-dimer level (aHR=2.371, 95% CI= 1.085-5.181], p=0.030) were the variables that were revealed to be significantly associated with the disease severity.Conclusion:We demonstrated that NGAL was highly associated with COVID-19 severity. We consider that NGAL might be a useful biomarker to diagnose the disease severity in patients with COVID-19.