Assessment of kidney tissue stiffness in different stages of pediatric chronic kidney disease using shear wave elastography: a case–control study

Abstract Background Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a serious health issue. The kidney's parenchymal tissue stiffens as a result of the pathological changes related to CKD as glomerulosclerosis and interstitial fibrosis. Shear wave elastography (SWE) is a noninvasive ultrasonic method that meas...

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Main Authors: Shaimaa Sayed, Fatina I. Fadel, Sally Emad-Eldin, Rasha E. Galal, Hend Mohamed, Reham O. Mohmoud
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2025-03-01
Series:The Egyptian Journal of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s43055-025-01438-9
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Summary:Abstract Background Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a serious health issue. The kidney's parenchymal tissue stiffens as a result of the pathological changes related to CKD as glomerulosclerosis and interstitial fibrosis. Shear wave elastography (SWE) is a noninvasive ultrasonic method that measures stiffness of the tissues. We aimed to assess kidney parenchymal tissue stiffness in different stages of pediatric CKD using SWE. We conducted a case–control study included 58 children with CKD stage 3, 4, 5 as the case group. Twenty-two age- and sex-matched healthy children were included as the control group. We obtained baseline data from the patients' medical files. The mean values of SWE readings of the kidney cortex (upper pole, lower pole and middle zone of both kidneys) were taken. Correlations between SWE measurements and CKD stages were performed. Results Regarding the case group, their mean age was 9.3 ±2.43 years. All measurements of SWE of both kidneys were significantly increased than the control group. With the advance of CKD stages, the SWE values increased. Worsening of the kidney function tests and decline of the eGFR are associated with increased kidney tissue stiffness and increase in SWE values. Conclusions SWE is a feasible noninvasive method to assess kidney parenchymal tissue stiffness in children with CKD. Kidney tissue stiffness increases with advance of the CKD stage. SWE can help in identification of moderate and late stages of CKD.
ISSN:2090-4762