Determination of Best Grey-Scale Ultrasonography Parameter for Assessment of Renal Function in Chronic Kidney Disease

Objective: To determine the best renal ultrasonographic parameter in assessing renal function in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Study design: Observational study Place and Duration of Study: Radiology Department, Jinnah Hospital, Lahore from September 2015 to January 2016. Materials and methods: 50 patients diagnosed with CKD referred to Radiology Department for ultrasonography were included in the study. Serum creatinine level recorded within last 90 days was used to estimate GFR by CKD-EPI equation modified for Pakistan’s population. Renal length, renal cortical thickness, and renal parenchymal thickness was recorded in ultrasonography and renal volume calculated by the formula. Linear regression was then used for analysis and p and r2 values calculated for each of these. Results: There was a significant and strong relationship between renal cortical thickness and renal function in CKD patients as evident by a p-value 0.001 and r2 value of 0.508. Renal parenchymal thickness showed a significant but weaker relationship with renal function (p-value = 0.001, r2 = 0.216). Renal volume had a significant but weak relationship (p-value 0.028, r2 0.097) while p-value of 0.609 showed that there was no significant relationship between renal length and kidney function in the subjects. Conclusion: Renal cortical thickness is the best indicator of renal function in CKD patients.