Is ultrasound evaluation of kidney length in children possible?: results from a prospective study in madagascan children less than one year of age

Renal US was prospectively performed in 124 madagascan children less than 1 year of age. Patients were examined in the prone position and maximum kidney length was measured in the longitudinal plane. These measurements and the height and weight of our patient population were compared to published tables. Kidney length and height and weight of our patient population were inferior to the previously published reference data and the growth curve of kidneys steeper than normative standards (p < 0,001). Because of the important variability in US measurement of kidney length it is not possible to definitely conclude that length and growth curve of kidneys in madagascan children are statistically different from those of the published normative standards.