Validation of Renal Function using Multiphasic Ratios between Renal Cortex and Medulla in Kidney Recipients

Area of Science:

• Radiology and Imaging
• Nephrology
• Transplant Surgery

Background:

• Accurate assessment of renal function is crucial for kidney transplant recipients.
• Traditional methods for evaluating kidney function can be invasive or time-consuming.
• Novel imaging techniques offer potential for non-invasive functional assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the multiphase ratio of Computer Tomography (CT)-value between the renal cortex and medulla.
• To determine if this ratio can serve as a concise measure of renal function in kidney recipients.
• To correlate CT-derived ratios with established estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) formulas.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 58 kidney recipients categorized by eGFR (CKD-EPI and MDRD formulas).
• Measurement of multiphasic ratios: arterial phase (A(RatioC/M)) and venous phase (V(RatioC/M)).
• Calculation of the difference ratio D(RatioC/M) and statistical analysis including correlation, regression, t-tests, and ROC curves.

Main Results:

• D(RatioC/M) showed strong positive correlation with both eGFR(CKD-EPI) (r=0.61) and eGFR(MDRD) (r=0.62).
• Significant differences in D(RatioC/M) were observed between normal and abnormal renal function groups (P<0.05).
• ROC curve analysis demonstrated high accuracy for D(RatioC/M) in assessing renal function (AUC: 0.863 and 0.822).

Conclusions:

• The D(RatioC/M) is a reliable indicator for assessing renal function in kidney transplant recipients.
• This CT-based multiphase ratio offers a concise and potentially non-invasive method for renal function evaluation.
• Further studies can explore its integration into routine post-transplant monitoring.