Do ultrasound renal resistance indices reflect systemic or renal vascular damage in chronic kidney disease?
Several recent studies suggested that elevated renal resistance indices measured by Duplex ultrasound predict the future progression of renal disease . In the largest of these studies, Radermacher and coworkers reported a resistance index value of 0.80 to be an independent risk factor for progression of kidney disease and death in patients suffering from chronic renal disease even after adjustment for arterial hypertension, renal function and proteinuria . Similarly, the same authors reported that ultrasound renal resistive index 0.80 independently predicted an unfavorable outcome in kidney transplant patients . Nevertheless, most clinicians currently rely on measurements of blood pressure, proteinuria and glomerular filtration rate rather than on ultrasound studies when predicting future progression of chronic kidney disease in individual patients.
