Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, Vol 18, Issue 8 559-564, Copyright © 1999 by American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
Color Doppler sonographic determination of renal blood flow in healthy children
T. Scholbach
Kinderklinik St. Georg Leipzig, Germany.
The volumetric measurement of the real renal perfusion is of interest in
many clinical situations. It promises better understanding of renal
function and development in healthy children and in children with acute or
chronic renal failure, inflammation of any type, scarring, swelling,
trauma, operations, and other conditions. Until now only scintigraphic
techniques allowed measurement of the renal plasma flow in clinical
practice. With color Doppler sonography all relevant data to calculate the
volume of blood that passes through the kidney in a certain time can be
measured. The aim of this paper is to investigate the utility of color
Doppler sonography in describing renal perfusion in 63 healthy children in
four separate age groups. It can be shown that the perfusion volume related
to the body surface area is constant throughout childhood. Its mean value
is 383 ml/min x m2. The results of the new technique of color Doppler
sonographic volumetric determination of renal blood flow are then compared
in 21 pediatric patients with the results of scintigraphic determination of
the renal perfusion by 123I-hippurate clearance. This way a significant
correlation of both methods can be demonstrated.
