Sonographic Assessment of Renal Length in Healthy Bangladeshi Children

Renal size is an important parameter used for the clinical evaluation of renal growth and renal diseases in children. Renal length is the most useful parameter for measuring renal size. Therefore, establishing the normal value of renal length in children is valuable, as it can serve as a baseline for the diagnosis of renal diseases and possible interventions. The objective of our study was to assess renal length in Bangladeshi children by ultrasonography. This cross-sectional study was carried out in the Department of Pediatric Nephrology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh, from January 2019 to June 2020. In total, 369 apparently healthy children aged 1 month to 18 years were included in this study. Renal length was measured by ultrasonography by same experienced radiologist. The mean renal length ± standard deviation was calculated for each age group. The correlation of renal length with age and anthropometric parameters was tested using Pearson's correlation test. No statistical difference was found in renal length between the two sexes. The left kidney was significantly longer than the right kidney (P <0.001). There were strong positive correlations of renal length with age and anthropometric parameters. The best positive correlation was found between renal length and height (r = 0.95 and 0.94 for the right and left kidneys, respectively). Linear regression equations were obtained to predict the renal length from age and anthropometric parameters. Renal length has a strong positive correlation with body length/height.