RENAL VASCULAR-RESISTANCE IN DIABETIC NEPHROPATHY - DUPLEX-DOPPLER USEVALUATION

PURPOSE: To evaluate duplex Doppler sonography to assess renal vascula r resistance (RVR) in diabetic patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Resist ive indexes (RIs) and pulsatility indexes (PIs) were measured in intra renal arteries of 144 patients with diabetes mellitus and 61 control s ubjects. RIs and PIs were compared for control subjects and patients w ith diabetic nephropathy and correlated with laboratory and clinical f indings. RESULTS: In control subjects, the mean RI was 0.595 +/- 0.033 (standard deviation) and mean PE was 1.001 +/- 0.105. Elevated RIs an d PIs accompanied progression of nephropathy. Statistically significan t (P < .001) correlations were observed between both RI and PI and ser um creatinine level, creatinine clearance rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure measurements, and patient age. CONCLUSION: Doppler ind exes reflect increased RVR in diabetic nephropathy and correlate with laboratory and clinical parameters, but RI and PI measurements offer n o advantages over these parameters to predict disease progress or in p atient care.