Decodificación de la función renal: evaluación del índice de resistencia arterial y los valores séricos de cistatina...

Área de la Ciencia:

• Nephrology
• Urology
• Radiology

Sus antecedentes:

• Spinal cord injury (SCI) frequently causes neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction (NLUTD).
• Regular renal scintigraphy is recommended for assessing renal function in SCI patients but involves radiation exposure and limited availability.
• Reliable, non-invasive alternatives for monitoring renal function in SCI are needed.

Objetivo del estudio:

• To evaluate the consistency of renal sonography and serum cystatin-C measurements with renal scintigraphy findings in individuals with chronic SCI.
• To identify alternative diagnostic parameters for assessing renal function in this population.

Principales métodos:

• Adults with chronic SCI (≥5 years) underwent renal sonography (arterial resistive index, parenchymal thickness, kidney dimensions) and serum cystatin-C measurement.
• Renal scintigraphy was performed within six weeks for clearance assessment.
• Correlations were analyzed using Pearson and Spearman coefficients; classification accuracy for reduced renal function (clearance ≤150 ml/min) was investigated.

Principales resultados:

• Data from 50 SCI patients (42 men, 8 women; mean age 54±14 years; SCI duration 24.4±14.6 years) were analyzed.
• A fair correlation was observed between scintigraphy clearance and cystatin-C levels (r=-0.37, p=0.013) and left renal resistive index (r=-0.44, p=0.002).
• Cystatin-C and left renal resistive index demonstrated good classification performance for reduced renal function (AUC=0.74/0.84, p<0.00001).

Conclusiones:

• Serum cystatin-C concentration and renal arterial resistance are reliable indicators of reduced renal function in SCI patients.
• These parameters can serve as supplementary diagnostic tools for renal function assessment.
• They may aid in deciding the necessity of scintigraphy examinations, potentially reducing radiation exposure.