Abstract:
Objective To validate the accuracy of different estimation formulas for measuring renal depth in patients with horseshoe kidney using CT actual measured renal-depth as a reference standard.
Methods The clinical data of 55 patients with horseshoe kidney who underwent 99Tcm-diethylene-triaminepentaacetic acid renal dynamic imaging in the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from January 2015 to December 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. These patients included 33 males and 22 females aged 19–80 (42.2±16.3) years. The vertical distance between the farthest and nearest points of the renal hilum and the skin of both kidneys were selected respectively, and the average value was taken as the renal-depth. The gender, age, height, and weight of the patients were recorded. The estimated renal-depths were obtained using the Tonnesen, Taylor, and Li Qian formulas, respectively. Paired t test, Pearson correlation analysis, and Bland-Altman analysis were performed between the estimated and CT measured renal-depths.
Results In 55 patients, the renal-depths calculated by the Tonnesen, Taylor, and Li Qian formulas were all lower than the CT measured renal-depths, and the differences were all statistically significant (left kidney: t=−14.04 to −6.85, all P<0.01; right kidney: t=−15.19 to −8.47, all P<0.01). A significant correlation existed between formulas estimated and CT measured renal-depths (r=0.430−0.528, all P<0.001), but the Li Qian formula correlated better than the Tonnesen and Taylor formula, where the correlation coefficient was (r=0.528, P<0.001) for the left kidney and (r=0.484, P<0.001) for the right kidney. All formulas underestimated the renal-depth; the estimated error increased with increased renal-depth, and the difference was statistically significant (95%CI: (0.805–1.471) to (2.347–3.061), all P<0.001). The bias between the renal-depths estimated by the Tonnesen formula and those measured by CT was the largest (left kidney: (2.38±1.24) cm; right kidney: (2.69±1.30) cm). Although the correlation coefficients of the Taylor and Tonnesen formulas were closer, the Taylor formula had better agreement, with biases of (1.76±1.29) cm and (1.70±1.32) cm for the left and right kidneys, respectively. The bias between the renal-depths derived from the Li Qian formula and those measured by CT was smaller (left kidney: (1.14±1.22) cm; right kidney: (1.46±1.27) cm).
Conclusions The accuracy of renal-depth in patients with horseshoe kidney calculated using Tonnesen, Taylor, and Li Qian formulas were not as good as the actual CT measurement. Therefore, to accurately assess glomerular filtration rate, CT is recommended to measure the renal-depth of patients with horseshoe kidney.