The course of alterations in ureteral jet dynamics following kidney transplantation: a prospective observational cohort study.

OBJECTIVES

To prospectively investigate the alterations and normal ranges of ureteral jet dynamics after double-J-stent (DJS) removal in patients who underwent renal transplantation (RTx).

METHODS

Patients who underwent RTx were prospectively evaluated between November 2017 and June 2018. After RTx, Doppler ultrasonography (D-US) was performed on all patients after DJS removal. Renal artery resistive index (RA-Ri), renal pelvis anterior-posterior diameter (RP-APD), pelvicalyceal system dilation (PCSD), and ureteral jet flow dynamics (maximum and average velocity; JETmax and JETave) were measured by D-US. Also, patients' demographics, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) levels, and acute rejection were investigated in the study. Patients were assessed two different times by D-US, about 6 and 12 weeks after DJS removal, and the two different measurements were compared with the Wilcoxon test and Chi-square test.

RESULTS

A total of 25 patients were evaluated in the study. Nonobstructive PCSD rate (12% vs 8%), JETave (18.8 vs 12.9 cm/sec), and JETmax (29.2 vs 20 cm/sec) levels were significantly decreased (p values are 0.01, 0.010 and 0.014, respectively). In addition, monophasic and square pattern rates were significantly observed to increase over time (p=0.035); however, ureteral jet patterns were correlated between the two different D-US measurements (R=0.225, p=0.032).

CONCLUSION

After RTx, dilation rate and ureteral jet flow velocities were significantly decreased, and monophasic and square JETpattern rates were significantly increased over time. Ureteral jet dynamics can provide useful information about the follow-up of peristaltic activity in the pelvic-ureteric system.