Abstract:

Objective   To investigate the significance of virtual touch tissue quantification (VTQ) for the assessment of chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN). Methods   A total of 28 patients with CAN were enrolled in the case group, while 33 patients with normal renal function served as the controls. All cases and controls underwent color Doppler sonography and VTQ examination. The results were compared between the two groups. Results   The mean shear wave velocity (SWV) of the cases and controls were (3.03±0.23) m/s and (2.71±0.23) m/s respectively, with statistically significant difference (P<0.05). The receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve displayed that VTQ value of 2.83m/s could be used to diagnose CAN; the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 92.9%, 66.7%, 70.3% and 91.7%, respectively. The diagnostic accuracy was 78.7%. Conclusion   Parenchymal stiffness can be quantitatively measured by VTQ, which can monitor renal function and offer more diagnostic information than conventional ultrasound examination.

Key words: Elastography; Kidney transplantation; Chronic allograft nephropathy; Virtual touch tissue quantification; Color doppler