Normal Kidney Volume and Length in Korean Adults as Measured by Multidetector-row Computerized Tomography Imaging

Kwon, Soon Hyo; Lee, Ho Young; Kim, Na Ri; Jeon, Jin Seok; Noh, Hyunjin; Kim, Yongbae; Kim, Jung Hun; Han, Dong Cheol

Abstract

PURPOSE: Kidney length and volume are important parameters in the diagnosis of kidney disease. There has been no study for kidney volume in Korea. Therefore, we investigated the normal kidney volume and length using multidetector-row computerized tomography (MDCT).
METHODS
One hundred and twenty-three Koreans were scanned for various medical reasons by MDCT. We measured kidney volume with three dimensional reconstruction programs. In the coronal section, we measured the craniocaudal length of both kidneys. Cross sectional kidney size was defined the sum of both sides of the rectangle enclosing the kidney at the level of the renal (hilum) vessel. Patients were excluded when they have the estimated GFR, calculated by modification of diet in renal disease, less than 90 ml/min/1.73m2, diabetes, any urinary abnormalities, renal anatomical abnormality, renal artery disease, more than three cysts and larger than 3 cm of cyst.
RESULTS
Kidney volumes were 177+/-34 mL for men and 146+/-28 mL for women. There were no volume differences among age groups. Kidney lengths were 10.5+/-0.9 cm for left and 10.0+/-0.8 cm for right. The cross sectional kidney size was 10.8+/-1.1 cm for left and 10.7+/-1.0 cm for right. There was a high correlation between the kidney volumes and the cross sectional sizes (r=0.80).
CONCLUSION
We suggest the reference values for kidney volume and length using MDCT. Measurement of kidney volumes may be more helpful to determine diagnosis and treatment of chronic kidney disease as compared with that of simple measuring kidney length.