The Position and Size of Radiological Nephrogram in Japanese Preschool Children
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HIROYUKI KAYABA, JUNICHI CHIHARA, OSAMU URAYAMA, YOSHIMI KOBAYASHI, KOHEI HONDA, NORIHIRO SAITOH, HIROMI TAMURA,1 YOSHIYUKI FUJIWARA,1 HIROAKI YOSHINO,2 TATSUZOU HEBIGUCHI and TETSUO KATO2
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Department of Clinical and Laboratory Medicine, Akita University School of Medicine, Akita 010-8543, 1Department of Pediatric Surgery, Fujiwara Memorial Hospital, Akita 010-0201 and 2Pediatric Surgery, Akita University School of Medicine, Akita 010-8543
The early detection of retroperitoneal masses in children, such as neuroblastoma, Wilm's tumor, hydronephrosis and cystic renal diseases, has a great clinical importance for the improvement of their prognosis. The kidney is often affected in its size or position by these lesions, and occasionally allows clinicians to find a clue to reach the correct diagnosis before the patient become symptomatic. Since we had no clinically available nomogram on the position and the size of the kidney in Japanese children, we measured the size and position of the kidneys on plain abdominal X-rays in 347 Japanese children in preschool years with a special attention to their relationship with the spine. As a result, the nomogram showed age dependent growth of the kidneys keeping almost the same ratio with the spine, while the distance between the upper pole of the kidney and the spine remained less than 10 mm in all age groups. Our nomogram may be useful not only for picking up the malposition of the kidneys but also for the follow up of the patients with chronic renal diseases affecting the growth of the kidneys.
Key words---
children; kidney; position; retroperitoneal mass
© 1999 Tohoku University Medical Press
Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 1999, 188, 23-29
Address for reprints:
Hiroyuki Kayaba, M.D., Department of Clinical and Laboratory Medicine, Akita University School of Medicine, 1-1-1 Hondo, Akita 010-8543, Japan.
e-mail: kayaba@yukari.hos.akita-u.ac.jp
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