Is CKD Screening Program Necessary in Developing Countries?

INTRODUCTION: The prevalence of congenital anomaly of kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT) and related chronic kidney disease (CKD) may be increased in countries with higher rate of consanguineous marriage. Therefore, we evaluated the prevalence of CKD by biochemical and kidney ultrasound measurements in the firstgrade pupils. METHODS: This cross -sectional study was carried on children aged 6 to 7 years. Urine analysis, serum creatinine, urine microalbumin to creatinine ratio and kidney ultrasound have been evaluated for participants. RESULTS: 653 children were recruited to the study. Stage 1 and stage 2 systolic hypertension have been found in 6.5 and 1%, respectively. The percentage of stage 1 and stage 2 diastolic hypertension were 1.3 and 0.3%, respectively. Both weight Z-score and waist Z-score had positive correlation with systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Microalbuminuria (in 2.5%) did not have any correlation with the following factors: hypertension, body mass index, microscopic hematuria, glomerular filtration rate, kidney sonographic abnormalities or kidney parenchymal thickness and family history of kidney transplantation. GFR less than 90 mL/ min /1.73 m2 has been detected in 1.8% of the students. Only 1.7% had urine RBC more than 5 in each high-power field (hpf). Approximately 1.5% had anatomical abnormality of kidney and urinary tract (hydronephrosis or hydroureter). CONCLUSION: Considering the higher prevalence of elevated blood pressure and microalbuminuria in Iranian children, a CKD screening program based on evaluating microalbuminuria and blood pressure measurement is needed. However, irrespective of high prevalence of consanguineous marriage in Iran, using kidney ultrasound as a screening tool has not been recommended.  DOI: 10.52547/ijkd.7306.

Sacrum Ultrasonography: An Accurate Alternative to Radiography for Measuring Sacral Ratio in Infants.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to compare the compliance of sacrum ultrasonography with radiography for the measuring of sacral ratio in infants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 129 infants under the age of 6 months, who were a candidate for abdominal and/or pelvic radiographs, were assessed. Sacrum ultrasonography and radiography were performed by a single radiologist using the same device. The sacral ratio was calculated for all patients undergoing ultrasonography and radiography. Agreement between two methods was calculated by Bland-Altman's chart. RESULTS: The mean of sacral ratio was 0.70 ± 0.11 radiographically and 0.72 ± 0.05 ultrasonographically. Based on Bland-Altman's chart, the mean difference between ultrasonography and radiology was 4.6 mm (confidence intervals of 8.18 ± 5.6). CONCLUSION: Sacrum ultrasonography could be safely used in the investigation of sacral ratio to detect sacrum abnormalities in infants.

Ultrasound-guided percutaneous central venous catheterization in infants: Learning curve and related complications.

BACKGROUND: This study was performed to evaluate the learning curve and related complications of ultrasound (US) guided central venous catheter (CVC) insertion in infants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was performed in Imam Hosein Hospital of Isfahan from September 2014 to March 2015. Participants were infants consecutively candidate for CVC insertion. Three steps were designed to complement the learning. For each step of learning, 20 patients were considered and for every patient one CVC was inserted: (1) In the first step, venous puncture and guide wire passage was performed by an experienced radiologist and the surgeon was taught how to do it, then CVC was placed by the surgeon. (2) In the second step, venous puncture and guide-wire passage was performed by the surgeon under the supervision of the same radiologist, and then CVC was placed by the surgeon. (3) In the third step, US-guided CVC insertion was performed by the surgeon completely, and the radiologist came to the operating room only if it was necessary. In each of these steps, the time spent of the US probe on the skin until the guide wire passage into the vein was recorded for every patient. All perioperative complications were recorded. RESULTS: The mean point for the time spent of the US probe on the skin until the guide wire passage into the vein was 84.9 ± 13.6, 119.1 ± 15.2, and 90.3 ± 11.2 s in the step 1, 2 and 3, respectively (P = 0.04). There was no significant difference between the frequencies of complications among tree steps. CONCLUSION: US-guided percutaneous CVC insertion is a safe and reliable method which can be easily and rapidly learned.

Orbital Doppler evaluation of blood flow velocities in optic neuritis.

PURPOSE: To evaluate orbital blood flow velocities and optic nerve diameter with Doppler and gray-scale sonography in patients with acute unilateral optic neuritis (ON). METHODS: Orbital Doppler and gray-scale sonography was performed in 46 eyes of 23 patients aged 19- to 47-years with acute unilateral ON. ON was diagnosed by an ophthalmologist on the basis of clinical presentation, presence of decreased visual acuity and assessment of visual evoked potentials. The peak systolic velocity (PSV) and end-diastolic velocity (EDV), as well as the resistance index (RI) and pulsatile index (PI) of the ophthalmic artery (OA), central retinal artery (CRA), posterior ciliary arteries (PCAs) and optic nerve diameter were measured in both eyes. We compared results from affected and unaffected eyes using the paired t-test. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves was used to assess the diagnosis of ON based on measured blood flow parameters of the OA, CRA and PCAs and optic nerve diameter. RESULTS: The mean (standard deviation) optic nerve diameter in eyes with ON was 4.1 (0.8) mm, which was significantly larger than the 3.0 (0.4) mm diameter measured in unaffected control eyes (p < 0.001). There were no differences in average PSV, EDV, RI, or PI of the OA and CRA between affected and unaffected eyes (p > 0.05). The mean RI in the PCAs was slightly lower in the eyes with ON than in the contralateral eyes (0.60 vs. 0.64, p < 0.05). The area under the ROC curves indicated that optic nerve diameter was the best parameter for the diagnosis of ON. CONCLUSIONS: Optic nerve diameter was related to ON, but orbital blood flow parameters were not.