Renal resistive index and aortic knob width relationship as a predictor of renal prognosis in essential hypertension

The scientific studies that have been conducted so far highlight that renal resistive index (RI) and aortic knob width (AKW) indicate poor prognosis regarding renal and cardiovascular mortality. But the existence of a direct relationship RI and AKW is unclear. This study aims investigating the relationship between RI and the measured AKW in chest radiography of the patients with hypertensive nephropathy who do not require renal replacement therapy. This prospective study included 268 consecutive patients with essential hypertension. Patients were divided into 2 groups as RI ≥0.7 and RI <0.7. The ROC curve, sensitivity, and specificity ratios were evaluated to determine which AKW value is the best predictive one for the RI ≥0.7. The cutoff point of AKW was evaluated as ≥36 for the cases with RI ≥0.7: sensitivity was 71.22%; specificity was 71.32%; the positive predictive value (PPV) was 72.79; the negative predictive value (NPV) was 69.70, and the accuracy was 71.27. Area under the ROC curve ± standard error (AUC ± SE) = 0.729 ± 0.031 (P < .001). AKW can provide important predictive information about the subclinical renal dysfunction in hypertensive patients with RI ≥0.7. Moreover; AKW is a predictive factor for both the diagnostic and prognostic evaluation of renal pathologies.