Preliminary study on the role of virtual touch tissue quantification combined with a urinary β2-microglobulin test on the early diagnosis of gouty kidney damage.

The goal of the work described here was to evaluate the role of virtual touch tissue quantification (VTQ) combined with urinary β2-microglobulin (β2-MG) measurement in the early diagnosis of gouty kidney damage. Two hundred fifty-nine patients with gouty kidney damage and 200 healthy control subjects were tested. The shear wave velocity (SWV) of the renal parenchyma and sinus as determined with VTQ and the urinary β2-MG level of the two groups were analyzed. Although there were no significant differences in age, body mass index, creatinine level and blood urea nitrogen between the two groups (all p's > 0.05), the aforementioned parameters were higher in the group with gouty kidney damage than in the control group. Urinary β2-MG levels of the patients with kidney damage were significantly higher than those of the control subjects (t = 6.38, p < 0.01). The SWV of the renal parenchyma was higher than that of the sinus in both groups. Compared with controls, patients with kidney damage had significantly increased renal parenchyma and sinus SWVs (all p-values < 0.05). Urinary β2-MG level was positively linearly correlated with the SWV of renal parenchyma in patients with kidney damage (r = 0.442, p < 0.0001). However, there was no correlation between urinary β2-MG level and the SWV of the sinus in patients with kidney damage (r = 0). In the control group, there was no correlation between urinary β2-MG level and the SWV of the renal parenchyma or sinus. The elasticity of the kidney as determined with VTQ, combined with the urinary β2-MG level, may be helpful in the early diagnosis of gouty kidney damage.