Modelling Acute Renal Failure using Blood and Breath Biomarkers in Rats

This paper compares three methods for estimating renal function, tested in rats. Acute Renal Failure (ARF) was induced via a 60-minute bilateral renal artery clamp in 8 Sprague-Dawley rats and renal function was monitored for 1 week post-surgery. A two-compartment model was developed for estimating renal function via a bolus injection of a radio-labelled inulin tracer, and was compared with the current gold standard plasma creatinine measurement, modified using the Cockcroft-Gault equation for rats. These two methods were compared with Selected Ion Flow Tube-Mass Spectrometry (SIFT-MS) monitoring of breath analytes. Determination of renal function via SIFT-MS is desirable since results are available non-invasively and in real time. Relative decreases in renal function show excellent correlation between methods, and indicate good promise for fast, non-invasive determination of renal function via breath testing.