N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase activity in urine of dental personnel.

BACKGROUND: Dental personnel is exposed to several potential nephrotoxic agents. Urinary N-acetyl-beta-d-glucosaminidase (U-NAG) activity has emerged as a sensitive marker of early nephrotoxicity. METHODS: U-NAG was evaluated, by fluorimetric assay, in urine from 30 healthy subjects and 30 dental personnels. RESULTS: The median value of U-NAG activity (133.5 U/mmol urinary creatinine (U-Cr) in urines of dental personnel was not statistically different (P>0.05) from activity (100.7 U/mmol U-Cr) of control urines. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that, for dental personnel, exposure to potential nephrotoxic agents is not usually high enough to increase U-NAG activity.