Assessment Of Renal Cortical Perfusion In Rabbits In Low Temperature Conditions By Contrast-enhanced Ultrasound

ObjectiveThe low temperature conditions may have some potential impact on kidneyfunctions, and the difficulty was that wether the failure could be diagnosed andtreated early or not. The renal hemodynamic changes precede morphologicchanges in kidneys. The present study aimed to explore the application ofcontrast-enhanced ultrasound in the evaluation of the renal cortical perfusion inlow-temperature treated rabbits, which may provide essential basis for the earlydiagnose and clinical treatment for renal damage.Methods20New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into five groups,4rabbits ineach group:1) with the first group as the control group (under the conditions ofroom temperature);2)The second group was treated under-15℃~-23℃for8hours;3)the third group was treated under-15℃~-23℃for4hours;4)the fourthgroup was treated under-6℃~-14℃for8hours;5)the fifth group was treatedunder-6℃~-14℃for4hours. SonoVue was injected via the ear vein at a doseof0.1ml/kg, the renal perfusion imaging was made, observing the dynamicimage of0~3min after the injection and analyzing the time-intensity curves(TIC)obtained from the following parameters: the slope rate of ascending curve(A),the slope rate of descending curve(α), area under the curve(AUC), time topeak(TTP), and derived peak intensity(DPI). ResultsCompared with the control group, the A, α of the second and the fourthgroup were significantly decreased(P<0.05), while the AUC was significantlyincreased (P<0.05) and the TTP was significantly prolonged(P<0.05), for thethird and the fifth group, only the A was decreased (P<0.05), and the DPI ineach group showed no significant difference; Compared with the third and thefourth group, the AUC of the second group was increased and the TTP wasprolonged (P<0.05).ConclusionsContrast-enhanced ultrasound can reflect the earlier renal corticalhemodynamic changes in rabbits in the low-temperature conditions, the TICcurve displayed further changes with the decrease of temperature and thetime-extension of low-temperature, which indicated that both the temperatureand the time-extension of low-temperature would have some impacts on therenal structure and function. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound may make greatsense for the earlier clinical diagnosis of renal damage caused by lowtemperature.