title: Correlation of quantitative renal cortical echogenicity with renal function in pediatric renal diseases.
abstract: Using quantitative echogenicity, the correlation between renal cortical echogenicity and renal function (serum creatinine) was evaluated in pediatric renal diseases. The kidney/liver echogenicity ratio (K/ L ratio) was measured by computerized amplitude histogram in 20 healthy children as well as in 45 children with renal diseases, including 12 glomerulonephritis with chronic renal failure (CRF), 9 anatomic-related CRF, 9 glomerulonephritis with acute renal failure (ARF), 5 nephrotoxic ARF, and 10 glomerulonephritis without renal failure. All children were above six years of age. Simultaneous serum creatinine was available during the procedure in all patients. The overall K/L ratio was 1.38 +/- 0.26 for CRF and 1.14 +/- 0.18 for ARF (p = 0.007), while the overall serum creatinine was 312 +/- 160 mumol/L (3.5 +/- 1.8 mg/dl) and 191 +/- 73 mumol/L (2.2 +/- 0.8 mg/dl), respectively (p = 0.013). K/L ratio was higher in CRF at a higher, or even at a comparable serum creatinine level, than in ARF. For patients with glomerulonephritis, K/L ratio was highest in those with CRF, next in those with ARF. Even in glomerulonephritis without renal failure, the K/L ratio was higher than in normal controls. There was a positive correlation between K/L ratio and serum creatinine concentration in glomerulonephritis with or without renal failure (r = 0.69, p < 0.001). These results suggest that the degree of increased renal echogenicity may reflect the severity of the renal disease. The K/L ratio measured by quantitative echogenicity may provide an additional simple noninvasive method to monitor the progression of glomerulonephritis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, R.O.C.
authors.forename: Y K
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Tsau
authors.forename: P I
authors.initials: PI
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: L Y
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D058186:Acute Kidney Injury / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D003404:Creatinine / Q000097:blood; D005921:Glomerulonephritis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007672:Kidney Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014463:Ultrasonography
chemical_list: D003404:Creatinine