CT-BASED MORPHOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF RENAL PARENCHYMA FOR ASSESSMENT OF CHRONIC STRUCTURAL CHANGES AND CORRELATION WITH ESTIMATED GLOMERULAR FILTRATION RATE

Abstract

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a progressive disorder in which structural damage to the renal parenchyma often precedes changes in biochemical markers such as the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). CT-based morphometry offers an objective, three-dimensional means of quantifying these structural changes.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate chronic structural changes in the renal parenchyma using CT-based morphometric analysis and to correlate them with eGFR in patients with CKD.

Methodology: This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted at Chughtai Lab on 196 diagnosed CKD patients selected by convenient sampling. Renal length, cortical thickness and renal volume were measured bilaterally on non-contrast CT, and demographic and clinical data, including serum creatinine and eGFR, were obtained from medical records. Data were analysed in SPSS using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, one-way ANOVA, independent-samples t-tests and multiple linear regression, with a p-value < 0.05 considered significant.

Results: The mean age was 47.01 ± 18.22 years and the mean eGFR was 59.17 ± 26.02 mL/min/1.73 m². All morphometric parameters showed strong, significant positive correlations with eGFR (p < 0.001); renal volume demonstrated the strongest correlation (right r = 0.976; left r = 0.978), followed by renal length and cortical thickness. All parameters declined progressively across CKD stages I to IV (ANOVA, p < 0.001), and a regression model combining all six parameters explained 98.7% of the variance in eGFR (R² = 0.987).

Conclusion: CT-based renal morphometric parameters are strongly correlated with eGFR and decline with advancing CKD, indicating that quantitative CT morphometry is a reliable, non-invasive imaging biomarker that can complement the biochemical assessment of renal function