Renal Findings in Patients with Thalassemia at Abdominal Ultrasound: Should We Still Talk about 'Incidentalomas'? Results of a Long-Term Follow-Up

Bibliographic Details
Title: Renal Findings in Patients with Thalassemia at Abdominal Ultrasound: Should We Still Talk about 'Incidentalomas'? Results of a Long-Term Follow-Up
Authors: Carmina Fatigati, Antonella Meloni, Silvia Costantini, Anna Spasiano, Flora Ascione, Filippo Cademartiri, Paolo Ricchi
Source: Diagnostics, Vol 14, Iss 18, p 2047 (2024)
Publisher Information: MDPI AG, 2024.
Publication Year: 2024
Collection: LCC:Medicine (General)
Subject Terms: thalassemia, renal stones, renal cysts, renal-cell carcinoma, Medicine (General), R5-920
More Details: We retrospectively collected all ultrasound imaging data of our thalassemia patients over a period of 10 years with the aim of assessing the prevalence and the risk factors of renal stones and cysts. Moreover, we assessed the incidence of renal-cell carcinoma (RCC) among thalassemia patients (133 with thalassemia major (TM) and 157 with thalassemia intermedia (TI)) and its association with demographic and clinical findings. Renal stones were detected in 15.2% of patients. In the multivariable Cox regression analysis, the independent predictors were blood consumption, splenectomy, and proteinuria. Renal cysts were detected in 18.4% of patients. In the multivariable analysis, age emerged as the only independent predictor. After the first detection, 35% of the patients showed changes in the number, size, or grading of renal cysts. During the study period, the crude incidence rate of RCC was 75.9 cases per 100,000 person-years. The most frequent histological subtype (80%) included clear-cell RCC. In total, 80% of patients with RCC had TM and all were positive for hepatitis C virus antibodies. Thalassemia patients are significantly affected by asymptomatic renal diseases such as stones, cysts, and cancer, suggesting the need for regular screening by imaging.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 2075-4418
Relation: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/14/18/2047; https://doaj.org/toc/2075-4418
DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics14182047
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/11d676cfe60b4cfab26d9546a3355d37
Accession Number: edsdoj.11d676cfe60b4cfab26d9546a3355d37
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
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More Details
ISSN:20754418
DOI:10.3390/diagnostics14182047
Published in:Diagnostics
Language:English