Acoustic radiation force impulse imaging for non-invasive assessment of renal histopathology in chronic kidney disease

To investigate the stiffness values obtained by acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) quantification in assessing renal histological fibrosis of chronic kidney disease (CKD). 163 patients with CKD and 32 healthy volunteers were enrolled between June 2013 and April 2014. ARFI quantification, given as shear wave velocity (SWV), was performed to measure renal parenchyma stiffness. Diagnostic performance of ARFI imaging and conventional ultrasound (US) were compared with histologic scores at renal biopsy. Intra- and inter-observer reliability of SWV measurement was analyzed. In CKD patients, SWV measurements correlated significantly with pathological parameters (r = -0.422--0.511, P