Comparison of renal dynamic imaging and two plasma sample method in determining glomerular filtration rate in patients with diabetic nephropathy

Objective: This study aims to compare the application significance of renal dynamic imaging (RDI) and two plasma sample (TPS) method in determining glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in patients with diabetic nephropathy. Methods: A total of 68 patients who received medical service in the Endocrinology Department of our hospital were enrolled into this study. These patients were divided into three groups: early nephropathy group (DN1 group, n=23), clinical nephropathy group (DN2 group, n=23) and uremia group (DN3 group, n=22). In addition, 22 healthy subjects were enrolled and assigned as control group (DN0 group). GFRs of all subjects were determined by both RDI and TPS method, and the correlation between results and determination methods were analyzed. Results: GFRs (gGFRs and tGFRs) in the DN0, DN1 and DN2 groups were determined by RDI and TPS, and the difference was not statistically significant (P> 0.05). Differences between gGFR and tGFR in the DN3 group was statistically significant (P< 0.05). Correlation coefficients between GFRs determined by RDI and TPS in the DN0, DN1, DN2 and DN3 groups were 0.999, 0.947, 0.925 and 0.999, respectively. All values exhibited a significant positive correlation (P< 0.05). Conclusions: Both RDI and TPS can sensitively reveal GFR changes in early and clinical nephropathy. However, RDI revealed poor accuracy and low sensitivity in the diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy in the uremic phase, and medical history combined with other examination methods should be applied in the diagnosis.