A methodological study of 2D shear wave elastography for noninvasive quantitative assessment of renal fibrosis in patients with chronic kidney disease.

Abstract

To determine the optimal measurement method of 2D shear wave elastography (2D-SWE) for noninvasive quantitative assessment of renal fibrosis in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. A total of 190 CKD patients were enrolled for 2D-SWE of right kidney. The success rates, coefficients of variation (CV), and pathological correlation of different measurement sites, body positions, and depths were compared. (1) Measurement sites: Success rate in the middle part (100%) was higher than that in the lower pole (97.3%, P > 0.05). CV in the middle part (10.2%) was lower than that in the lower pole (16.4%, P < 0.05). Pathological correlation of the middle part (r = - 0.452, P < 0.05) was higher than that of the lower pole (r = 0.097, P > 0.05). (2) Body positions: Success rate in left lateral decubitus position (100%) was higher than that in supine (99.4%, P > 0.05) and prone position (99.4%, P > 0.05). CV was lowest (11.9%) and pathological correlation was highest (r = -0.256, P < 0.05) in prone position. (3) Measurement depths: Success rate at depth < 4cm (100%) was higher than that at depth ≥ 4cm (98.8%, P > 0.05). CV at depth < 4cm (11.1%) was lower than that at depth ≥ 4cm (14.4%, P < 0.05). Pathological correlation at depth < 4cm (r = - 0.303, P < 0.05) was higher than that at depth ≥ 4cm (r = - 0.156, P > 0.05). The optimal measurement method of 2D-SWE for renal fibrosis assessment was prone position, renal middle part, and measurement depth < 4cm.