ObjectiveTo explore the correlation of serum lipocalin-2 (LCN2) with inflammation and the predictive value of LCN2 for detecting acute kidney injury (AKI) in acute pancreatitis (AP).MethodsNighty-one patients with AP, who were admitted to Bazhong Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine between June 2016 and June 2018, were enrolled in the present study. Clinical paramaters were analyzed between patients with AKI (n=29) and patients without AKI (n=62). The correlation of serum LCN2 with inflammation was assessed with Pearson’s correlation analysis. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC AUC) for serum LCN2 predicting AKI in AP patients was assessed.ResultsCompared with the patients without AKI, the patients with AKI showed increased serum levels of C-reactive protein [(64.8±10.5) vs. (148.3±21.6) mg/L], procalcitonin [(3.5±2.3) vs. (4.8±3.9) μg/L], urea nitrogen [(5.5±2.1) vs. (6.6±2.8) mmol/L], creatinine [(80.3±28.1) vs. (107.3±30.8) μmol/L], interleukin-6 [(10.1±3.7) vs. (16.2±4.6) pg/mL], and LCN2 [(155.0±37.6) vs. (394.8±53.1) mg/mL], as well as decreased level of calcium [(2.6±1.3) vs. (2.0±1.0) mmol/L], the differences were all statistically significant (P<0.05). The serum level of LCN2 was correlated with C-reactive protein (r=0.694, P<0.05), interleukin-6 (r=0.762, P<0.05), and procalcitonin (r=0.555, P<0.05) in patients with AP. The ROC AUC of LCN2 for predicting AKI was 0.844 (P<0.05) , with a sensitivity of 81.3% and a specificity of 81.4% when the cut-off value was 210.2 ng/mL.ConclusionsSerum LCN2 concentration is elevated in patients with AKI. In patients with AP, serum LCN2 level is positively correlated with C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and procalcitonin. It can be regarded as a reliable indicator for predicting AKI.