Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39560816›Full record

ArticleClinical and experimental nephrology2025

Ultrasonic renal length as an indicator of renal fibrosis severity in non-diabetic patients with chronic kidney disease.

Ziman Chen, Jun Jiang, Simon Takadiyi Gunda, Xinyang Han, Chaoqun Wu, Michael Tin Cheung Ying, Fei Chen

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Article in Clinical and experimental nephrology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Correlation of Kidney Lenght and Body Parameters in CT Scans.International braz j urol : official journal of the Brazilian Society of Urology
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Ziman Chen *Department of Health Technology and Informatics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 11 Yuk Choi Rd, Hung Hom, 999077, Kowloon, Hong Kong. chenzm27@mail3.sysu.edu.cn.
Jun Jiang *Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen Second People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
Simon Takadiyi GundaDepartment of Health Technology and Informatics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 11 Yuk Choi Rd, Hung Hom, 999077, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Xinyang HanDepartment of Health Technology and Informatics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 11 Yuk Choi Rd, Hung Hom, 999077, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Chaoqun WuDepartment of Ultrasound, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, 52 Meihua East Rd, Zhuhai, 519000, China.
Michael Tin Cheung YingDepartment of Health Technology and Informatics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 11 Yuk Choi Rd, Hung Hom, 999077, Kowloon, Hong Kong. michael.ying@polyu.edu.hk.
Fei ChenDepartment of Ultrasound, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, 52 Meihua East Rd, Zhuhai, 519000, China. chenfei23@mail.sysu.edu.cn.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDebate continues regarding the potential of the ultrasonic renal length to serve as an indicator for evaluating the advancement of renal fibrosis in chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study investigates the independent association between renal length and renal fibrosis in non-diabetic CKD patients and assesses its diagnostic performance.

methodsFrom April 2019 to December 2021, 144 non-diabetic patients diagnosed with CKD who underwent a renal ultrasound examination and kidney biopsy were prospectively enrolled. Patients were categorized into the mild fibrosis group (n = 70) and the moderate-severe group (n = 74) based on the extent of fibrotic involvement. Ultrasonic renal length was measured from pole-to-pole in the coronal plane. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, multivariable logistic regression analysis, and a generalized additive model were performed.

resultsA negative linear correlation was found between renal length and moderate-severe renal fibrosis risk. Each centimeter increase in renal length decreased the odds of moderate-severe fibrosis by 38% (OR: 0.62; 95% CI 0.41-0.93; P = 0.020). After adjusting for confounders, the relationship persisted (OR: 0.58; 95% CI 0.33-1.00; P = 0.048). However, renal length presented limited discrimination ability in distinguishing degrees of renal fibrosis while controlling the key confounding factors, yielding an area under the ROC curve of only 0.58 (95% CI 0.45-0.70).

conclusionWhile an inverse relationship exists between renal length and risk of having moderate-severe renal fibrosis in non-diabetic CKD patients, renal length alone is insufficient for diagnosing fibrosis severity, underscoring the need for additional diagnostic parameters in CKD assessment.

Indexed as

KidneyRenal Insufficiency, ChronicAdultAgedFemaleFibrosisHumansMaleMiddle AgedOrgan SizePredictive Value of TestsProspective StudiesSeverity of Illness IndexUltrasonographyChronic kidney diseaseFibrosisRenal lengthUltrasound

Identifiers

PMID39560816
PMCPMC11937224

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.