Elastography as an Indicator of Renal Fibrosis: First Pilot Study in a Tertiary University Hospital in Northeastern Mexico

Background: Detecting fibrosis and quantifying its progression using noninvasive methods would help objectively detect early changes. In early CKD, fibrosis may already be present without affecting GFR, which is only assessed by biopsy, which remains the gold standard. Methods: Study design: Ambispective diagnostic test. Bilateral renal shear wave elastography was performed in all patients with an indication for a kidney biopsy from June to November 2024. Biochemical and laboratory parameters were collected: baseline Cr for calculating eGFR using CKD-EPI, 24-hour proteinuria, renal ultrasound, as well as the biopsy report to verify the degree of glomerular fibrosis. Primary objective: To correlate the degree of renal fibrosis using Shear-Wave elastography with that reported by renal biopsy in any type of kidney disease requiring biopsy. Secondary objectives: The level of fibrosis measured by elastography was correlated with the clinical renal stage calculated using the eGFR by CKD-EPI formula and 24-hour proteinuria. Renal ultrasound findings were correlated with renal elastography. Results: As in the literature, our study revealed that the higher percentage of renal fibrosis by biopsy is positively correlated with the outcome of starting chronic RRT. In our study, it is worth adding that the degree of fibrosis by elastography in kPa had a positive correlation with a p value of 0.012. Figure 1. Conclusion: In our study, it was demonstrated that the higher the value of kilopascals by elastography, the more correlated it was with the outcome of requiring chronic RRT and the higher percentage of renal fibrosis shown in biopsy, especially in patients with suspected nephrological syndrome such as rapidly progressive glomerulopathy.