Correlation of Kidney Size on Computed Tomography with GFR, Creatinine and HbA1C for an Accurate Diagnosis of Patients with Diabetes and/or Chronic Kidney Disease

• Main Authors: Nashaat Ghaith, Bassem Malaeb, Rasha Itani, Mohammed Alnafea, Achraf Al Faraj
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-04-01
• Series: Diagnostics
• Subjects: chronic kidney disease; diabetes; computed tomography; glomerular filtration rate; HbA1c; kidney volume
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/11/5/789

Diabetes is considered one of the major causes of chronic kidney disease (CKD), affecting renal blood vessels and nerves. Diagnosis of CKD by traditional biochemical serum and blood analyses is insufficient and insensitive, thus requiring the development of a more robust technique. This novel study aims to propose a new method for the accurate diagnosis of CKD, quantification of kidney damage, and its prognosis by physicians by measuring the kidney volume on computed tomography (CT). In total, 251 patients were enrolled in this retrospective study. They were divided into four groups: control, patients having diabetes, patients having CKD, and patients having both diabetes and CKD. Results showed that kidney volume correlated negatively with both GFR and HbA1C on CT images, in addition to decreasing faster in males than females. Moreover, HbA1C was shown to correlate positively with creatinine and negatively with GFR. Finally, GFR was more robust than creatinine when correlated with age. The association between kidney volume with GFR and HbA1c can be used to accurately anticipate kidney volume in established CKD on CT scan, especially in resource-poor settings. Furthermore, HbA1C can serve as a powerful biomarker for studying renal function in diabetic CKD patients as it correlates with creatinine and GFR.