Strain and shearwave sonoelastographic findings of quadriceps tendon in patients with chronic kidney disease. Are they reliable?

AIM

In this study, we aimed to compare the strain (SE) and shear wave elastography (SWE) findings of the quadriceps tendons (QT) of the patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and healthy volunteers (HV), and estimate the reliability of the evaluations.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Twenty-nine HV and twenty-seven patients with CKD were enrolled. All sonoelastographic examinations were performed separately by two observers. The QT thickness (QTT), SWE, and SE findings including the tissue elastic modulus (EM), shear wave velocity (SWV), and the elasticity patterns were obtained and compared. Interobserver agreement was evaluated to test the reliability of the findings.

RESULTS

The QT in CKD patients is thinner than HV (p = 0.001 for both observers). The elasticity patterns of QT were mostly intermediate stiffness for both observers (p < 0.05 for both observers). The mean EM values in the patient group were significantly higher than HV for both observers (p < 0.05 for both observers). The mean SWVs were significantly higher in the patient group (p < 0.05 for both observers). SWV showed weak, significant, and negative correlations with the hemodialysis (HD) duration (p < 0.05 for both observers). The interobserver agreements were moderate to excellent for QTT, EM, SWS, and SE patterns (p < 0.01 for all parameters).

CONCLUSION

QTT and its elasticity are decreased in patients with CKD. The QTT and SE patterns may be the choice to determine the elasticity in CKD patients with good reliability values rather than SWE. But, there is still debate on the reliability of sonoelastographic findings, to ensure standardization of the factors affecting reliability, they should be well understood.