A comparison of serum cystatin C and creatinine with glomerular filtration rate in Indian patients with chronic kidney disease.

OBJECTIVES There is no literature available on the performance of cystatin C in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) patients of Indian population based on age group. Hence, this study is aimed to compare the diagnostic performance of serum cystatin C and creatinine with measured glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and estimated GFR (eGFR) in subjects of Indian origin. METHODS The study was carried out at Tiruchirappalli, South India during the period of September 2010 to march 2011. One hundred and six CKD patients (82 males, 24 females) were enrolled and categorized into three groups based on age. The eGFR was calculated using Cockcroft-Gault (CG) and Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) formulae. Serum cystatin C was measured with a particle-enhanced nephelometric immunoassay (PENIA) method. GFR was measured using (99m)T(C) - diethylene triamine penta aceticacid (DTPA) renal scan method. RESULTS Serum cystatin C showed significant correlation with measured GFR in all the three groups (r=-0.9735, r=-0.8975 and r=-0.7994 respectively) than serum creatinine (r=-0.7380, r=-0.6852 and r=-0.5127 respectively). CONCLUSION Serum cystatin C showed a high correlation with measured GFR in young and older patients with CKD than creatinine. Thus, cystatin C is a good alternative marker to creatinine in CKD patients.