Clinical Values of Studying Kidney Elasticity with Virtual Touch Quantification in Gestational Hypertension Patients

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in shear wave velocity (SWV) in renal cortex, renal medulla, and renal sinuses between gestational hypertension and normal pregnant women. MATERIAL AND METHODS Ninety patients with gestational hypertension and 30 women with normal pregnancy were enrolled in this study. Kidney biopsy was performed within 6 weeks to 3 months postpartum to determine the pathological nature of renal injury. According to the classification criteria for gestational hypertension, the patients were divided into 3 groups. Gestational hypertension only patients were classified as Group A; patients with mild preeclampsia as group B; patients with severe preeclampsia as group C; normal pregnant women as a control group. Virtual Touch Quantification technique was used to measure renal shear wave velocity; blood pressure, urine analysis, and renal function were also tested. RESULTS There was no difference in renal function between patients in group A and the control group (p>0.05), but there was a significant difference in renal function among patients in group A, B, and C, and there was a significant difference in renal function between patients in group B and C versus control (p<0.05 for all comparisons). There was also a significant difference in SWV values of the renal cortex, renal medulla, and renal sinus between patients in group A, B, and C versus control group (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS The SWV values of the renal cortex, renal medulla, and renal sinus in patients with gestational hypertension were smaller than those of normal pregnant women, and the more severe the kidney injury, the smaller the SWV value.