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Updated: Jul 16, 2026
Physiology Lab Demonstration: Glomerular Filtration Rate in a Rat
Published on: July 26, 2015
Single-slice dynamic computed tomographic determination of glomerular filtration rate by use of Patlak plot analysis
Kate Alexander1, Jérôme R E Del Castillo, Norma Ybarra
1Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC J2S 7C6, Canada.
Objective:
To compare glomerular filtration rate (GFR) as estimated from Patlak plot analysis by use of single-slice computed tomography (CT) with that obtained from clearance of plasma inulin in pigs.
Animals:
8 healthy anesthetized juvenile pigs.
Procedures:
All pigs underwent precontrast, whole-kidney, helical CT; postcontrast single-slice dynamic CT; and postcontrast, whole-kidney CT for volume determination. On dynamic images, corrected Hounsfield unit values were determined for each kidney and the aorta. A Patlak plot for each kidney was generated, and plasma clearance per unit volume was multiplied by renal volume to obtain whole-animal contrast clearance. Mean GFR determined via inulin clearance (Inu-GFR) was measured from each kidney and correlated to mean GFR determined via CT (CT-GFR) for the left kidney, right kidney, and both kidneys by use of linear regression and Bland-Altman analyses.
Results:
CT-GFR results from 7 pigs were valid. Total and right kidney Inu-GFR were correlated with total and right kidney CT-GFR (total, R(2) = 0.85; right kidney, R(2) = 0.86). However, left kidney CT-GFR was poorly correlated with left kidney Inu-GFR (R(2) = 0.47). Bland-Altman analysis revealed no significant bias between Inu-GFR and CT-GFR for the left kidney, right kidney, or both kidneys.
Conclusions And Clinical Relevance:
CT-GFR as determined by use of a single-slice acquisition technique, low-dose of iohexol, and Patlak plot analysis correlated without bias with Inu-GFR for the right kidney and both kidneys (combined). This technique has promise as an accurate CT-GFR method that can be combined with renal morphologic evaluation.
