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Renal function after acute and chronic spinal cord injury
The Journal of Urology
|March 1, 1984
Summary
Spinal cord injury (SCI) and age significantly impact kidney function, particularly effective renal plasma flow, which generally decreases with age and is lower in SCI patients. Renal scintigraphy provides baseline parameters for evaluating kidney status in these individuals.
Area of Science:
- Nephrology
- Nuclear Medicine
- Physiology
Background:
- Spinal cord injury (SCI) can affect various physiological functions, including renal function.
- Assessing kidney health in SCI patients is crucial for management and prognosis.
- Computer-assisted renal scintigraphy offers a non-invasive method to evaluate renal plasma flow and differential function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of age, sex, and spinal cord injury status on renal plasma flow and scintigraphic parameters.
- To establish baseline scintigraphic parameters for evaluating renal status in neurologically intact and SCI individuals.
- To determine if renal scintigraphic parameters change over time after spinal cord injury.
Main Methods:
- Computer-assisted renal scintigraphy was performed on 160 acute SCI, 240 chronic SCI patients, and 287 controls.
- Measurements included global and individual kidney effective renal plasma flow (ERPF).
- Scintigraphic parameters analyzed were time of maximum activity, peak to 27-minute counts ratio, and early kidney counts (1-2 minutes post-injection).
Main Results:
- Time of peak activity and differential function at 1-2 minutes were not significantly affected by age, sex, or SCI status.
- Global and individual ERPF were significantly affected by age, sex, and SCI status.
- ERPF was generally higher in males than females, decreased with age, and was lower in SCI patients compared to controls (excluding youngest/oldest).
- The peak to 27-minute counts ratio was significantly affected by age and SCI status, but not sex.
- Follow-up scintigraphy in patients without pathology showed no significant changes from 1-3 years post-injury.
Conclusions:
- Effective renal plasma flow is significantly influenced by age, sex, and spinal cord injury.
- Spinal cord injury is associated with reduced effective renal plasma flow compared to controls.
- Scintigraphic parameters provide valuable baseline data for assessing renal status in SCI patients.
- No significant changes in renal scintigraphic parameters were observed in the 1-3 years following injury in patients without pathology.