The value of shear wave elasticity and shear wave dispersion imaging to evaluate the viscoelasticity of renal parenchyma in children with glomerular diseases

• Published in: BMC nephrology 2023-10, Vol.24 (1), p.1-306, Article 306
• Main Authors: Yao, Shixiang, Cai, Yingying, Hu, Shanshan, Liu, Xiao, Gao, Xia, Li, Guanyu, Wang, Hongying, Yu, Hongkui
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Albumin; Biopsy; Child; Children; Correlation analysis; Creatinine; Diagnosis; Diagnosis, Ultrasonic; Diagnostic imaging; Diseases; Elasticity imaging techniques; Glomerulonephritis; Kidney; Kidney diseases; Kidneys; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Methods; Nephrology; Parenchyma; Patients; Pediatric research; Propagation; Proteins; Shear wave dispersion imaging; Statistical analysis; Ultrasonic imaging; Urine; Velocity; Viscoelasticity; Viscosity; Wave propagation
• ISSN: 1471-2369; 1471-2369
• DOI: 10.1186/s12882-023-03357-1

Background To study the value of shear wave elasticity and shear wave dispersion imaging to evaluate the viscoelasticity of renal parenchyma in children with glomerular diseases. Methods Forty-three children with glomerular diseases were prospectively evaluated by shear wave elasticity (SWE) and shear wave dispersion imaging (SWD); 43 healthy volunteers served as the control group. The shear wave velocities (SWV) and the dispersion slopes were measured at the upper, middle, and lower poles of both kidneys. The analysis of mean SWV and mean dispersion slope in control and patient groups was used to further evaluate the value of SWE and SWD in the viscoelasticity of renal parenchyma in children with glomerular disease. Results The mean SWV in children with glomerular disease was higher than that in the healthy control group (1.61 [+ or -] 0.09 m/s vs. 1.43 [+ or -] 0.07 m/s, p < 0.001). Compared with healthy group, the mean dispersion slope in children with glomerular disease was significantly increased (13.5 [+ or -] 1.39 (m/s)/kHz vs. 12.4 [+ or -] 1.40 (m/s)/kHz, p < 0.001). Correlation analysis showed absence of correlation between the SWV and dispersion slope of occult blood, serum creatinine, 24-h urine protein, blood albumin, BMI and ROI box depth of children with glomerular disease. Conclusions The present study shows that it is feasible to use SWE and SWD to evaluate the difference of viscoelasticity of the renal parenchyma between healthy children and those with glomerular disease. Keywords: Child, Kidney, Elasticity imaging techniques, Shear wave dispersion imaging, Viscoelasticity