title: Ear length and kidney function decline after kidney donation.
abstract: The preservation of kidney function after kidney donation depends on the kidney reserve - the potential of the remaining kidney to boost their function after loss of the other kidney. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, size and shape of the external ears are examined to evaluate the person's kidney health. We hypothesized that ear size might be a practical yet overlooked marker of kidney reserve. Fifty kidney transplantation donors were participated in this study. The length and width of both ears of all participants were measured during one of the post-donation visits. Pre-donation serum creatinine and post-donation serum creatinine as well as other relevant parameters (age, sex, weight, height, etc.) of the participants were extracted from medical records. The estimated GFR was calculated from serum creatinine, age and sex using the CKD-EPI equation. Ear length negatively associated with %GFR decline after kidney donation. For every 1 cm increase in ear length, it was associated with 5.7% less GFR decline after kidney donation (95% Confidence Interval 0.2 to 11.3, P = 0.04). Ear width, as well as age, sex, body weight, height, body mass index, and pre-donation eGFR did not significantly associate with the GFR decline. Our findings support the notion of Traditional Chinese Medicine that ear morphology may be associated with kidney health and suggest that ear length might be a useful predictor of kidney function decline after kidney donation.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. pkatavetin@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Pisut
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Katavetin
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Salin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Watanatorn
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Natavudh
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Townamchai
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Yingyos
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Avihingsanon
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Kearkiat
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Praditpornsilpa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003404:Creatinine / Q000097:blood; D046148:Donor Selection; D004423:Ear / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D005919:Glomerular Filtration Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009392:Nephrectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D009929:Organ Size; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011379:Prognosis; D051437:Renal Insufficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D012737:Sex Factors; D013785:Thailand; D014019:Tissue Donors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D003404:Creatinine
keywords: donor selection; ear; glomerular filtration rate; kidney transplantation; nephrectomy