Comparison between Doppler Ultrasonography and Renal Scintigraphy in Assessment of Post-Transplant Renal Function

Abstract

Purpose To compare the usefulness of Doppler ultrasonography and renal scintigraphy in the assessment of short- and long-term function of transplanted kidneys. Materials and Methods We retrospectively reviewed the cases of 79 patients who underwent Doppler ultrasonography and technetium-99m diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid renal scintigraphy on the same day, within 4 days of renal transplantation. Image parameters were evaluated for statistical differences. Results There was a strong positive correlation between the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) as measured by renal scintigraphy and the estimated GFR (eGFR) based on serum creatinine levels (correlation coefficient = 0.71). Scan grade according to the time-activity curve, resistive index, and end diastolic velocity showed moderate correlations with the eGFR (correlation coefficients = -0.557, -0.329, and 0.370, respectively) in the early post-transplantation period. The mean survival time was longer in patients with lower resistive indices (≤ 0.68, 54.9 months vs. > 0.68, 29.5 months) and lower pulsatility indices (≤ 1.32, 53.8 months vs. > 1.32, 28.7 months); however, there were no statistically significant differences in the long-term follow-up period (p = 0.121 for resistive index and p = 0.074 for pulsatility index). Conclusion Renal scintigraphy is a more sensitive method than Doppler ultrasonography for assessing transplanted kidney function in the early post-transplantation period. Doppler ultrasonography might reflect the long-term survival time. However, it is difficult to predict long-term renal function using either method.

Keywords

• ultrasonography
• doppler
• radionuclide imaging
• kidney transplantation
• glomerular filtration rate