Renal dysfunction reduces the diagnostic and prognostic value of serum CC16 for acute respiratory distress syndrome in intensive care patients

Background Contradictory results regarding changes in serum club cell protein 16 (CC16) levels in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) have been reported, challenging the value of CC16 as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for ARDS. We have also observed increased serum CC16 levels in patients with renal dysfunction (RD). Therefore, the present study aimed to determine whether RD affects the diagnostic performance of CC16 for ARDS in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Methods We measured serum CC16 concentrations in 479 ICU patients, who were categorized into six groups according to their diagnoses: control, acute kidney injury (AKI), chronic kidney disease (CKD), ARDS, ARDS+AKI, and ARDS+CKD. The sensitivity, specificity, and cutoff values for serum CC16 were assessed by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Results Serum CC16 concentrations were higher in the ARDS group than in the control group, and in ARDS patients with normal renal function, serum CC16 could identify ARDS and predict survival outcomes at 7 and 28 days. However, serum CC16 levels were similar among the ARDS+AKI, ARDS+CKD, AIK, and CKD groups. Consequently, in patients with AKI and/or CKD, the specificity of CC16 for diagnosing ARDS or ARDS+RD decreased from 86.62 to 2.82% or 81.70 to 2.12%, respectively. Consistently, the CC16 cutoff value of 11.57 ng/ml in patients with RD differed from the established values of 32.77–33.72 ng/ml with normal renal function. Moreover, the predictive value of CC16 for mortality in ARDS+RD patients was lost before 7 days but regained by 28 days. Conclusion RD reduces the diagnostic specificity, diagnostic cutoff value, and predictive value for 7-day mortality of serum CC16 for ARDS among ICU patients.