A kidney injury biomarker called "neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin" (NGAL) in urine or blood detected early subclinical acute kidney injury (AKI) and its adverse outcomes in critically ill patients who did not have diagnostic increases in serum creatinine. Early NGAL testing may therefore allow earlier conventional medical interventions or introduction of novel therapies to improve the prognosis of AKI, according to a study published April 26 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC).