Ultrasound Imaging Assessment of Renal Transplant Patients

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Ultrasound Imaging Assessment of Renal Transplant Patients: The development of imaging techniques to improve assessment of renal transplant patients to enable evaluation of delayed graft function and fluid status.

  • IRAS ID

    323978

  • Contact name

    Patrick Mark

  • Contact email

    patrick.mark@ggc.scot.nhs.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    University of Glasgow on behalf of NHS GG&C

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    1 years, 0 months, 24 days

  • Research summary

    Kidney transplantation is considered the best treatment for patients with kidney failure. Unfortunately, there is a global shortage of organs and clinicians have had to utilise organs they previously wouldn’t have. These higher risk organs do not come without their complications and one of the more established complications is that the kidney is slow to work, so called delayed graft function (DGF). The longer the period of DGF, the worse the outcomes are for both the kidney and the patient in the long-term.
    A novel technique which perfuses higher risk kidneys on an external rig is assessing the percentage perfusion of the kidney using ultrasound. Using this theory, we will use ultrasound to scan transplanted kidneys on consecutive days following transplant, from the three major sources; living donor, brain death donors and cardiac death donors and see if there is any difference in time for the kidneys to begin functioning.
    We can also use the ultrasound to assess fluid levels in transplant patients using a validated score called VExUS, and we can attempt to draw clinical correlations with different parameters.

  • REC name

    London - Westminster Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    24/LO/0106

  • Date of REC Opinion

    25 Apr 2024

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion