Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 23, 2026
Measurements of Motor Function and Other Clinical Outcome Parameters in Ambulant Children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Published on: January 12, 2019
Sonographic measurements for kidney length in normal Saudi children: correlation with other body parameters
Rafat Saeed Mohtasib1, Kamal Mostafa Alshamiri2, Aman Asad Jobeir2
1From the Department of Biomedical Physics, Molecular and Functional Imaging, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Insights
This study establishes normal kidney length growth curves for children in Saudi Arabia. Height is the primary factor influencing kidney size, with males generally having larger kidneys than females.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Radiology
- Medical Imaging
- Nephrology
Background:
- Ultrasonography offers a safe, rapid method for assessing visceral organ dimensions.
- Kidney size is a critical indicator for various pediatric diseases, necessitating reliable reference data.
- Establishing normal renal length standards is vital for accurate clinical evaluation in children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop normative growth curves for renal length in healthy Saudi children up to 14 years of age.
- To analyze the correlation of renal length with sex, age, body weight, height, body mass index (BMI), and body surface area (BSA).
- To provide essential reference data for pediatric radiology and nephrology assessments.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 950 pediatric ultrasonography exams for renal length.
- Inclusion criteria: full-term neonates to 14-year-old children with normal renal ultrasonography findings.
- Data collection from electronic archives and patient records between 2003 and 2018.
Main Results:
- Left kidneys were significantly longer than right kidneys (P<.001).
- Height demonstrated the strongest correlation with kidney length (R²=0.829–0.831, P<.001).
- Males exhibited longer kidneys than females (P=.031 for right, P=.015 for left). Significant growth differences noted before and after 24 months of age.
Conclusions:
- The generated renal length growth charts and correlation plots serve as valuable tools for pediatric radiology departments.
- These data aid in the assessment of conditions affecting renal size in children up to 14 years.
- Acknowledged limitations include the retrospective nature and potential variations in ultrasonographic measurement techniques.
Background:
Ultrasonography provides a quick assessment of visceral organ dimensions without any risk of radiation. Since many diseases can affect the kidney size, having a reliable reference for kidney length in children is valuable for clinical assessment.
Objective:
Establish normal growth curves for renal length in relation to sex, age, body weight, height, body mass index and body surface area of healthy children in Saudi Arabia.
Design:
Retrospective review of ultrasonography images.
Setting:
Tertiary referral hospital.
Patients And Methods:
We included all normal ultrasonography exams of renal length from full-term neonates to children ≤14 years old performed between 2003 and 2018. Data was collected retrospectively from the electronic archive and patient records.
Main Outcome Measures:
Relationship between the longitudinal length of both kidneys and age, height, weight, body mass index and body surface area.
Sample Size:
950 patients.
Results:
The left kidneys were longer than the right kidneys ( P<.001). Height had the most significant correlation with kidney length (R2=0.829, P<.001 for right kidney; R2=0.831, P<.001 for left kidney). There was a consistent difference in kidney length by sex. Both kidneys were longer in males than females ( P=.031, right kidney:, P=.015, left kidney). In terms of renal growth by age, our data showed a statistically significant difference before and after 24 months of age. There was no significant difference between populations from Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong ( P=.485) and Australia ( P=.99), but the difference between Saudi and American children was significant ( P<.001). However, we did not have the data from those studies for direct comparison. The correlation plots of renal length versus age for all four countries were similar.
Conclusion:
The tables and correlation plots generated from this study should be useful to radiology departments in assessing conditions in children ≤14 years of age that lead to changes in renal size.
Limitations:
Retrospective, and there were differences in ultrasonographic techniques for patient positioning and cursor placement that can affect the reproducibility of measurements of renal length.
Conflict Of Interest:
None.
Related Concept Videos
02:20Correlations
01:13Equipments Used to Measure Body Temperature
Glass-bulb Thermometer:
Glass-bulb thermometers are hollow glass tubes with a bulb tip containing liquid such as ethanol or mercury. Historically, glass bulb mercury thermometers were the standard device to measure body temperature. Today, mercury thermometers are prohibited in many countries due to the hazardous effects of mercury and the risk of exposure if the glass bulb breaks. In general,...
01:27Correlation and Causation
Correlation versus Causation
If the dependent variable increases or decreases when the independent variable increases, there is a positive or negative...
01:45Kidney Structure
01:09Correlation
Two variables, for example, a and b, are said to be positively correlated if both variables move in the same direction. In other words, a positive correlation exists between two variables, a and b, if:
01:19Normal Stress
When a rod is under axial loading, the internal forces and corresponding stress are normal to the plane of the section, so it is termed normal stress. It's important to...