Abstract

Ultrasound provides information on kidney morphology, but studies relating structural and functional abnormalities in chronic kidney disease (CKD) are lacking. The aim of this descriptive cross-sectional study was to compare individual kidney (IK) B-mode ultrasound abnormalities to IK glomerular filtration rate (GFR) estimated by scintigraphy normalized to plasma volume (PV) in dogs, to evaluate if ultrasonographic findings were associated with low IKGFR/PV. Eighty privately owned dogs with and without clinical suspicion of CKD were prospectively enrolled, and kidney ultrasound and IKGFR/PV were evaluated independently. Ultrasound images were assessed retrospectively for subjective abnormalities (shape, cortical, and medullary hyperechogenicity), and kidney size was measured. The normal IKGFR/PV cutoff was derived from dogs in the study group with no history and clinical signs of kidney disease and normal blood and urine results (n = 28) and was 16.84 mL/min/L. Kidneys were categorized into normal, mild, moderate, and severe ultrasound changes according to subjective ultrasound grades. Associations were found between low IKGFR/PV and abnormal kidney shape (P = .0004), cortical hyperechogenicity (P = .0008), medullary hyperechogenicity (P < .0001), and low kidney volume (P = .0092). Apart from the moderate and severe category comparison, IKGFR/PV value significantly decreased with increasing severity of category. The combination of ultrasonographic subjective abnormalities had a high sensitivity (93.8%) and moderate specificity (65.7%) for detecting low IKGFR/PV. Kidneys with normal IKGFR/PV had a low frequency of mild ultrasound changes. Findings indicate kidneys with increasing number and grade of subjective ultrasound abnormalities are more likely to have a lower IKGFR/PV.

Keywords

canine; chronic kidney disease; kidneys; nuclear medicine; ultrasound

Published in

Veterinary Radiology and Ultrasound
2019, Volume: 60, number: 4, pages: 432-446

SLU Authors

• Mattei, Chiara

  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Pelander, Lena

  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Hansson, Kerstin

  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Uhlhorn, Margareta

  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Olsson, Ulf

  • Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Häggström, Jens

  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Ljungvall, Ingrid

  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Ley, Charles

  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Clinical Science


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/vru.12755

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/100586