ABSTRACT
Background: Increased renal echogenicity is a nonspecific ultrasound finding. It may be a normal variation or suggestive of various underlying conditions like renal amyloidosis, chronic kidney disease, sickle cell disease and HIV associated nephropathy (HIVAN). Objective: To study maternal renal echogenicity in normal pregnancy, and explore its relationship with maternal baseline characteristics in our subregion. Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in the Obstetrics and Radiology Units of the two tertiary health facilities, one secondary facility and one radio-diagnostic facility, all in Bayelsa State, South-South Nigeria, between March-August 2022. The relationships between maternal renal echogenicity and age, parity and gestational age were explored using Chi-square test of proportion, while with an analysis of variance (ANOVA), the mean difference of age, weight and height between the grades of renal echogenicity was investigated. Kruskal Wallis test was deployed to examine parity in the grades of renal echogenicity. The level of significance was set at p<0.05. Results: The study participants that had Grade 0, 1 and 2 renal echogenicity were 160 (39.7%), 403 (58.3%) and 8 (2.0%), respectively. There were statistically significant relationships between maternal renal echogenicity and maternal age (χ2=36.94; p=0.001), parity (χ2=64.29; p=0.001), gestational age (χ2=16.03; p=0.003) and body mass index (BMI) (χ2 = 45.15; p - 0.001). Conclusion: Our study revealed a significant relationship between maternal renal echogenicity in normal pregnancy and maternal baseline characteristics (age, parity, gestational age and weight).
Subject(s)
Pregnant Women , Pregnancy , Humans , Female , Birth Weight , Nigeria , Cross-Sectional Studies , Niger , Parity , Ultrasonography , Body Mass IndexABSTRACT
Background: The intima-media thickness (IMT) of the carotid arteries is said to be predictive of the risk of cerebrovascular accidents in patients and said to be affected by sex, age, and race. The lack of normative reference values of carotid IMT can adversely affect the screening of subclinical atherosclerosis in Nigeria. Sonography is the most widely used tool in clinical practice for IMT determination. Aim: This study was aimed at obtaining sonographic reference values of the IMT of the carotid arteries of healthy adult Nigerians for clinical use. Study Design: This is a prospective study, where participants were selected by a simple random technique. Setting: The study was carried out in 2019 on adult Nigerians from different ethnic backgrounds that resided in Bayelsa State. Materials and Methods: The study population was 104 healthy Nigerian adults both male and female between 18 and 64 years of age. Excluded were those without informed consent, Nigerians aged below 18 and above 65 years, anyone with a history of cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, or metabolic disorders, and athletes. After confirming normal blood pressure and taking their physical measurements, participants' necks were scanned with an "EcoMed" ultrasound machine version VERTU-3 Portable USG with a linear transducer and a frequency of 7.0 MHz by an experienced radiologist. Results: The IMT was recorded for the subjects in millimetres where common carotid artery: males = 0.487 ± 0.014, females = 0.480 ± 0.010 with a reference range of 0.200-0.750 mm; internal carotid artery: males = 0.500 ± 0.019, females = 0.459 ± 0.013 with a reference range of 0.200-0.750 mm; external carotid artery: males = 0.479 ± 0.018, females = 0.437 ± 0.014 with a reference range of 0.180-0.780 mm. The values for the males were higher than those of the females; however, they were not statistically significant. There was also no statistically significant difference between right and left sides in the IMT despite the right persistently being higher than the left in the general study population. Conclusion: This study has been able to provide reference values for IMT of the carotid arteries among Nigerians for clinical use in the meantime. We believe that a systematic review of similar data can further be done for the standardisation of national reference.
