Renal Cortical Stiffness Obtained by ElastPQ Technique is Significantly Increased in Children with Newly Diagnosed Hypertension

INTRODUCTION: In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the change of renal cortical stiffness (CS) obtained by elastography point quantification (ElastPQ) in children with newly diagnosed hypertension (HT) and to determine the CS-related parameters in these patients. MATERIALS and METHODS: 40 children with newly diagnosed HT and 20 healthy controls were included in the study at the age of 7-16 years. Renal ultrasonography (USG) was performed in addition to routine history, physical examination, and laboratory examinations. Renal CS was measured by ElastPQ technique. RESULTS: In patients with HT; systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), pulse pressure (PP), LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels, renal cortical thickness and renal CS values were significantly higher than in healthy controls (p <0.05 for each). In univariate analysis with renal CS, it was found that SBP, DBP, PP and renal cortical thickness were positively correlated. In contrast, HDL and renal cortical thickness were negatively correlated. In the linear regression analysis, it was determined that only SBP values were closely related to renal CS (p<0.001 vs. β=0.395). CONCLUSION: In children with newly diagnosed HT, renal CS obtained by ElastPQ technique increases. According to the results of our study, it was concluded that renal CS may be used in early detection of target organ damage in children with HT. However, additional studies were considered necessary for this finding