Ultrasound analysis of different forms of hemolytic uremic syndrome in children

Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is the most common cause of acute kidney injury in children. It is mainly caused by Shiga toxin-producing enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC; STEC-HUS) and is more rarely caused by uncontrolled complement activation (cHUS). Renal replacement therapy is frequently required and kidney function recovers in the majority of patients. Ultrasound (US) is the preferred imaging modality for the evaluation of any renal failure. The aim of this study is the evaluation of US diagnostics in both HUS types at disease onset and in the course of the disease.

Clinical, laboratory, and US data from the digital patient records of children admitted as inpatients with a diagnosis of HUS were recruited for a monocentric, retrospective analysis. STEC-HUS and cHUS were diagnosed when, in addition to the laboratory constellation, EHEC infection and complement system activation were verified, respectively. US examinations were performed by pediatricians with certified pediatric US experience.

In total, 30 children with STEC-HUS (13/25 male; median age of disease onset 2.9 years; most prevalent EHEC serotype was O157) and cHUS (2/5 male; median age of disease onset 5.4 years; 3/5 with proven pathogenic variation) were included. Renal replacement therapy proportions were comparable in the STEC-HUS and cHUS patients (64% vs. 60%). The resistance index (RI) was elevated at disease onset in the patients with STEC-HUS and cHUS (0.88 ± 0.10 vs. 0.77 ± 0.04, p = 0.13) and was similar in the STEC-HUS subcohorts divided based on dialysis requirement (yes: 0.86 ± 0.1; no: 0.88 ± 0.1; p = 0.74). Total kidney size at disease onset displayed a positive correlation with dialysis duration (R = 0.53, p = 0.02) and was elevated in both HUS types (177% ± 56 and 167% ± 53). It was significantly higher in the STEC-HUS subcohort which required dialysis (200.7% vs. 145%, p < .029), and a regressor kidney size threshold value of 141% was indicated in the receiver operating characteristic analysis. A classification model using both US parameters sequentially might be of clinical use for predicting the need for dialysis in patients with STEC-HUS. The US parameters normalized over time.

The US parameters of RI and total kidney size are valuable for the assessment of HUS at disease onset and during therapy, and may be helpful in the assessment of whether dialysis is required in patients with STEC-HUS.