ArticleBMJ global health2020
Diagnostic performance of a point-of-care saliva urea nitrogen dipstick to screen for kidney disease in low-resource settings where serum creatinine is unavailable.
Article in BMJ global health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Saliva urea nitrogen for detection of kidney disease in adults: A meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- A Holistic Approach to Metabolic Health Assessment-Analysis of Bioimpedance, Blood, and Saliva Biochemistry in Population Studies-A Pilot Study.Metabolites · 2025Article
- From Saliva to Diagnosis: A Scoping Review of Conventional and Biosensor-Based Methods for Salivary Biomarkers in Chronic Kidney Disease.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Review
- Biomarker research for Henoch-Schönlein purpura nephritis based on "omics" techniques.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Review
- Sex-specific associations between blood urea nitrogen and risk of hyperuricemia in U.S. adults: the NHANES 1999-2020.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Article
- The Role of Oral Biomarkers in the Assessment of Noncommunicable Diseases.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Article
- sTREM-1: A Biomarker of Mortality in Severe Malaria Impacted by Acute Kidney Injury.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2024Article
- BUN level is associated with cancer prevalence.European journal of medical research · 2023Article
- Article
- Application of a Novel Biosensor for Salivary Conductivity in Detecting Chronic Kidney Disease.Biosensors · 2022Article
- Pragmatic Recommendations for the Prevention and Treatment of Acute Kidney Injury in Patients with COVID-19 in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2021Article
- Malaria-Associated Acute Kidney Injury in African Children: Prevalence, Pathophysiology, Impact, and Management Challenges.International journal of nephrology and renovascular disease · 2021Review
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Authors and funding
15 authors at 8 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundKidney disease is prevalent in low-resource settings worldwide, but tests for its diagnosis are often unavailable. The saliva urea nitrogen (SUN) dipstick is a laboratory and electricity independent tool, which may be used for the detection of kidney disease. We investigated the feasibility and performance of its use in diagnosing kidney disease in community settings in Africa.
methodsAdult patients at increased risk of kidney disease presenting to three community health centres, a rural district hospital and a central hospital in Malawi were recruited between October 2016 and September 2017. Patients underwent concurrent SUN and creatinine testing at enrolment, and at 1 week, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months thereafter.
resultsOf 710 patients who presented at increased risk of kidney disease, 655 (92.3%) underwent SUN testing at enrolment, and were included (aged 38 (29-52) years, 367 (56%) female and 333 (50.8%) with HIV). Kidney disease was present in 482 (73.6%) patients and 1479 SUN measurements were made overall. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) correlated with SUN (r=-0.39; p<0.0001). The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve was 0.61 for presenting SUN to detect acute or chronic kidney disease, and 0.87 to detect severe (eGFR <15 mL/min/1.73 m
conclusionsSUN, measured by dipstick, is feasible and may be used to screen for kidney disease in low resource settings where creatinine tests are unavailable.
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