Clinical value of serum Klotho protein in patients with acute traumatic brain injury complicated by acute kidney injury

Abstract

Abstract Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity, with acute kidney injury (AKI) as a common complication. This study aimed to investigate the potential of serum Klotho protein levels as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for AKI in TBI patients.The results showed that serum Klotho level 177.3 (165.43,195.07) (pg/ml) was elevated in patients with traumatic brain injury as compared to normal group 134.8(125.6,138.9) (pg/ml) . We conducted univariate analyses of all potential factors, resulting in four variables for inclusion in the multivariate analysis. Among them, the HR value of Klotho protein was 2.076. Comparing the predictive efficacy of serum creatinine and Klotho protein, the ROC value of Klotho protein was 0.832 (95% CI: 0.709–0.898), suggesting higher predictive ability than serum creatinine. Modestly elevated serum Klotho protein levels were associated with a higher risk of AKI and a poor long-term prognosis.These findings suggested that serum Klotho protein levels may serve as an early diagnostic indicator and predictor of outcomes in TBI patients with AKI, providing insights for potential therapeutic interventions. Further research is needed to validate these findings and explore the clinical utility of targeting the Klotho pathway in TBI-associated AKI.