The following is a summary of “Non-contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance urography for measuring split kidney function in pediatric patients with hydronephrosis: comparison with renal scintigraphy,” published in the December 2023 issue of Nephrology by He et al.

Split kidney function (SKF) assessment is crucial for treatment decisions in pediatric hydronephrosis, with renal scintigraphy (RS) as the traditional method and non-contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance urography (NCE-MRU) gaining traction.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the feasibility of NCE-MRU as an alternative to RS for SKF assessment in pediatric hydronephrosis patients.

They included 75 pediatric patients with hydronephrosis in this retrospective study. All patients had NCE-MRU and RS within 2 weeks. From T2-weighted (T2WI) in NCE-MRU, they obtained kidney parenchyma volume (KPV) and texture analysis parameters. Compare the calculated split KPV (SKPV) percent and texture analysis parameters percent of the left kidney with the RS-determined SKF.

The results showed a significant positive correlation between SKPV and SKF (r = 0.88, P<0.001), while inhomogeneity had a negative correlation with SKF (r = − 0.68, P<0.001). Prediction models for SKF were established using simple and multiple linear regression, with Bland–Altman plots demonstrating good agreement for both models. The corrected prediction model had a lower residual sum of squares than the uncorrected model (0.283 vs. 0.314), though not statistically significant (P=0.662). Subgroup analysis on different MR machines found substantial correlations (P<0.05 for all) of 0.85, 0.95, and 0.94 between SKF and SKPV for three respective scanners.

They concluded that NCE-MRU proved effective for SKF estimation in pediatric hydronephrosis, with SKPV as a promising predictive marker.

Source: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00467-023-06224-1