Dependence of Renal Blood Flow on Renal Artery Stenosis Measured Using CT Angiography

PURPOSE: The present study investigates the suitability of computed tomography angiography (CTA) depicting the degree of renal artery stenosis for estimating renal blood flow (RBF) in a kidney. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We investigated renal artery stenosis assessment by CTA in eight adult female hybrid pigs with an ultrasound probe implanted at the renal vein for RBF measurement. An inflatable metal-free cuff was placed around the renal artery to control the RBF. The RBF was then reduced in four steps. For each reduced RBF value and baseline RBF, CTA with a reconstructed slice thickness of 0.625 mm was performed in the arterial phase following injection of 80 ml of nonionic intravenous contrast medium. The radius of the stenotic and non-stenotic renal artery segment was measured in the reconstructed images. RESULTS: A significant linear correlation (p < 0.0001) was found between the relative apparent stenosis (calculated as the ratio of the radii of the actual stenotic segment and a non-stenotic renal artery segment) and RBF. The linear regression yielded a slope of 0.57 and a y-axis of 24.1 %. A significant linear correlation (p < 0.0001) was also found between the relative true stenosis (the ratio of the radii of the actual stenotic segment and a non-stenotic renal artery segment at baseline) and the RBF. The linear regression yielded a slope of 0.67 and a y-axis of 13.8 %. CONCLUSION: The results show that the relative stenosis apparent on CTA differs from the true degree of renal artery stenosis. Nevertheless, the degree of renal artery stenosis determined by CTA provides a reliable estimate of the resulting RBF reduction.