The Application Of Functional Magnetic Resonance Diffusion Weighted Imaging And Diffusion Tensor Imaging In Kidney Transplantation

Objective: To evaluate the application of functional MRI in renal transplantation by comparing the parameters of diffusion weighted imaging(DWI)and diffusion tensor imaging(DTI)between patients who suffered from delayed graft function(DGF)after transplantation and patients who not,and by analyzing the correlation between parameters of functional MRI and renal allograft function.Methods: Patients who underwent kidney transplant in our center from September 2015 to December 2017 were retrospectively reviewed,and 23 DGF patients and 26 normal graft function controls were enrolled in the study.Comparisons of apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC)and fractional anisotropy(FA)values of renal allograft were both made between DGF patients and controls one month after transplant;And,correlations of ADC and FA values one month after transplant were made between estimated glomerular filtration rate(eGFR)and serum creatinine value of one and six months after transplant respectively.Differences of ADC and FA value between DGF patients and controls were compared by student's T test;Relationships between MRI parameters and eGFR and serum creatinine were analyzed respectively using Pearson Correlation Test.Receiver operating characteristic curve(ROC curve)of medullar ADC and FA value were both created for prediction of eGFR>60ml/min.Results:Differences of cortical and medullar FA value were found between DGF group and control group(P<0.05).Positive correlation between medullar FA and eGFR wasobserved one month after transplantation,as well as medullar ADC and eGFR(P<0.05).A negative correlation was found between cortical ADC of one month after transplantation and serum creatinine level at 6 months' post-transplant period(P<0.05).For prediction of eGFR >60ml/min,the ROC curve of medullar ADC and FA showed the area under the curve(AUC)of 0.796 and 0.799 respectively,and 95% confidence interval(CI)of 0.670-0.922 and 0.671-0.928respectively(P<0.05).Conclusions: Functional magnetic resonance DWI and DTI can provide functional and morphological assessment of transplanted kidneys.