Renal cortical volume measured using automatic contouring software for computed tomography and its relationship with BMI, age and renal function

PurposeTo evaluate the relationship between renal cortical volume, measured by an automatic contouring software, with body mass index (BMI), age and renal function.Materials and methodsThe study was performed in accordance to the institutional guidelines at our hospital. Sixty-four patients (34 men, 30 women), aged 19 to 79 years had their CT scans for diagnosis or follow-up of hepatocellular carcinoma retrospectively examined by a computer workstation using a software that automatically contours the renal cortex and the renal parenchyma. Body mass index and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) were calculated based on data collected. Statistical analysis was done using the Student t-test, multiple regression analysis, and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).ResultsThe ICC for total renal and renal cortical volumes were 0.98 and 0.99, respectively. Renal volume measurements yielded a mean cortical volume of 105.8 cm3 ± 28.4 SD, mean total volume of 153 cm3 ± 39 SD and mean medullary volume of 47.8 cm3 ± 19.5 SD. The correlation between body weight/height/BMI and both total renal and cortical volumes presented r = 0.6, 0.6 and 0.4, respectively, p < 0.05, while the correlation between renal cortex and age was r = −0.3, p < 0.05. eGFR showed correlation with renal cortical volume r = 0.6, p < 0.05.ConclusionThis study demonstrated that renal cortical volume had a moderate positive relationship with BMI, moderate negative relationship with age, and a strong positive relationship with the renal function, and provided a new method to routinely produce volumetric assessment of the kidney.