Renal cortical volume measured using automatic contouring software for computed tomography and its relationship with...

Area of Science:

• Nephrology
• Radiology
• Medical Imaging Analysis

Background:

• Kidney volume assessment is crucial for evaluating renal health.
• Accurate measurement of renal structures, particularly the cortex, aids in understanding kidney function.
• Automated contouring software offers potential for efficient and reproducible volumetric analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the relationship between renal cortical volume and body mass index (BMI), age, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR).
• To assess the utility of automatic contouring software for measuring renal cortical volume.
• To establish correlations between anthropometric and functional parameters with renal cortical volume.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of CT scans from 64 patients (aged 19-79 years).
• Utilized automatic contouring software to measure renal cortex and parenchyma volumes.
• Calculated BMI and eGFR; employed Student t-test, multiple regression, and ICC for statistical analysis.

Main Results:

• High intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) for renal and cortical volumes (0.98 and 0.99, respectively).
• Renal cortical volume showed a moderate positive correlation with BMI (r=0.4) and a moderate negative correlation with age (r=-0.3).
• A strong positive correlation was found between renal cortical volume and eGFR (r=0.6).

Conclusions:

• Renal cortical volume is moderately associated with BMI and negatively with age.
• Renal cortical volume demonstrates a strong positive relationship with renal function (eGFR).
• Automatic contouring software provides a reliable method for routine volumetric assessment of the kidney.