Relationship of Renal Cortical Echogenicity in Renal Ultrasonography with Course of Disease in Children with Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome

 It is important to find a predictor for the course of Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome for better planning of treatment. Renal cortical echogenicity in ultrasonography has been postulated as a marker for the course of renal disease. The present study aimed at evaluating the relationship between renal cortical echogenicity and the course of Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome in children.

In this cross-sectional study, the samples were consisted of 42 patients under 17 years old with Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome, who was admitted to Imam Reza Hospital, Kermanshah city, Iran, during 2015–2016. The echogenicity of renal cortex and liver was compared using the sonography scanning, and divided into three grades; grade (0): echogenicity of the renal cortex less than that of the liver, grade (1): echogenicity of the renal cortex is equal to that of the liver, and grade (2): The renal cortical echogenicity is greater than that of the liver.

Twenty-five patients (59.5%) were male and 17 patients (40.5%) were female. Twenty-seven patients (64.2%) were steroid-responsive, 10 patients (23.8%) were steroid-dependent and five patients (11.9%) were steroid-resistant. There was no statistically significant relationship between genders and the steroid response (p=0.81), but there was astatistically significant relationship between the course of the disease and the renal cortical echogenicity (p=0.01).

The results showed a relationship between steroid response and the course of the disease with renal cortex echogenicity, which means that higher renal cortical echogenicity may be a predictor of a more complicated course in Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome. Moreover, the small sample size, especially in the steroid-resistant group, was a limitation in the present study.