Preliminary evaluation of MR diffusion tensor imaging in children with acute renal injury

Objective To investigate the study of magnetic resonance (MR) diffusion tensor imaging in children with acute kidney injury, and further improve the clinical research level of early diagnosis of acute kidney injury (AKI). Methods Twenty-two children who met the clinical AKI diagnostic criteria were collected from the Children's Hospital of Hunan Province. Twenty-three children volunteers were collected as the control group. The anisotropy fraction (FA) and mean diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of the renal cortex and medulla of all the tested children were detected, and the serum creatinine value and disease test results of children with AKI were collected. Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between the renal and medullary ADC values and FA values and serum creatinine values in the children with AKI. Results There were no significant differences in the FA, ADC values of left and right renal cortex and medulla of case group (P>0.05). There were no significant differences in the FA, ADC values of left and right renal cortex and medulla of control group (P>0.05). The medullary FA value, cortical FA and ADC value of the children with AKI were significantly lower than those of normal children (P 0.05). The medullary FA value and cortical ADC value of AKI patients were negatively correlated with serum creatinine value (r=-0.868, -0.436, P<0.05), and there was no correlation between cortical FA, medullary ADC and serum creatinine in the rest of the children. Conclusions As a non-invasive imaging method, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can reflect the early renal damage of AKI and has potential application value for clinical diagnosis of AKI. Key words: Diffusion tensor imaging; Magnetic resonance imaging; Acute kidney injury; Child