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<p>
<bold>Background:</bold> Exposure to hydrocarbon is associated with an increased risk of development of chronic kidney disease. Ultrasound, which is a non-invasive imaging modality, provides very important information about kidney morphology. <bold>Objective:</bold> The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of chronic exposure to some petroleum products on the kidney of exposed workers using sonography. <bold>Materials and methods:</bold> This was a prospective cross-sectional study involving 415 workers with chronic workplace exposure to petroleum fuel in Enugu metropolis. The study population comprised 164 petrol station attendants, 175 automobile mechanics and 76 petrol tanker drivers aged between 20 and 65 years. Abdominal ultrasound was performed, as well as serum urea and creatinine were measured to assess the kidneys of these workers chronically exposed to petroleum fuels, and the findings were compared to findings in an aged-matched, non-exposed control group. <bold>Results:</bold> Increased echogenicity of the kidneys was observed in 21 subjects from the study group and this differed significantly (<italic>p</italic> &lt;0.05) from the findings in the control group. <bold>Conclusions:</bold> The study has shown that chronic exposure to petroleum fuel affects renal echotexture and that ultrasound may serve as a useful non-invasive tool for routine use in the assessment of petroleum-induced nephropathy.</p>
</abstract>

Background: Exposure to hydrocarbon is associated with an increased risk of development of chronic kidney disease. Ultrasound, which is a non-invasive imaging modality, provides very important information about kidney morphology. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of chronic exposure to some petroleum products on the kidney of exposed workers using sonography. Materials and methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional study involving 415 workers with chronic workplace exposure to petroleum fuel in Enugu metropolis. The study population comprised 164 petrol station attendants, 175 automobile mechanics and 76 petrol tanker drivers aged between 20 and 65 years. Abdominal ultrasound was performed, as well as serum urea and creatinine were measured to assess the kidneys of these workers chronically exposed to petroleum fuels, and the findings were compared to findings in an aged-matched, non-exposed control group. Results: Increased echogenicity of the kidneys was observed in 21 subjects from the study group and this differed significantly (p <0.05) from the findings in the control group. Conclusions: The study has shown that chronic exposure to petroleum fuel affects renal echotexture and that ultrasound may serve as a useful non-invasive tool for routine use in the assessment of petroleum-induced nephropathy.

Renal echotextural changes in Nigerian workers chronically exposed to petroleum-based liquid fuels

Journal of Ultrasonography

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Background: Exposure to hydrocarbon is associated with an increased risk of development of chronic kidney disease. Ultrasound, which is a non-invasive imaging...

Parameter	Exposed N = 415	Unexposed N = 415	P-value of unpaired t-test at 0.05 level of significance
Age (years)	38 ± 12	37 ± 11	0.2420
Exposure duration (years)	11 ± 7.2	11 ± 7.2	0.5025
Height (m)	17 ± 0.058	1.7 ± 0.053	0.3312
Weight (kg)	68 ± 6.60	68 ± 5.90	0.3470
BMI	22.83 ± 1.272	22.69 ± 1.199	0.2289

Category	Normal echotexture	Mild alteration	Moderate alteration	Marked alteration	Total
Exposed	394	16	4	1	415
Unexposed	410	5	0	0	415
Total	804	21	4	1	830

Category	Kidney echogenicity Normal	Kidney echogenicity Abnormal	Total
Exposed	394	21	415
Unexposed	410	5	415
Total	804	26	830

Parameter	Exposed	Unexposed	Reference range	P-value of unpaired t-test at 0.05 level of significance
Urea	15 ± 3.7	12 ± 3.8	7-23 mg/dL	<0.0001****
Creatinine	1.1 ± 0.18	0.93 ± 0.15	0.7-1.5 mg/dL	<0.0001****

Renal echotextural changes in Nigerian workers chronically exposed to petroleum-based liquid fuels

Article Category: research-article

Pubblicato online: 31 mar 2020

Pagine: 18 - 23

Ricevuto: 09 gen 2020

Accettato: 09 gen 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15557/jou.2020.0004

Parole chiave
renal echotextural changes, ultrasound, exposure, petroleum-based liquid fuels

© 2021 Polish Ultrasound Society. Published by Medical Communications Sp. z o.o.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Fig. 1.

Demographic characteristics of the study group vs controls

Degree of kidney echotextural alterations in the subjects vs controls

Kidney echogenicity in chronically exposed workers and comparison with their control

Urea and creatinine levels in exposed workers vs controls

Renal echotextural changes in Nigerian workers chronically exposed to petroleum-based liquid fuels

Article Category: research-article

Pubblicato online: 31 mar 2020

Pagine: 18 - 23

Ricevuto: 09 gen 2020

Accettato: 09 gen 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15557/jou.2020.0004

Parole chiaverenal echotextural changes, ultrasound, exposure, petroleum-based liquid fuels

© 2021 Polish Ultrasound Society. Published by Medical Communications Sp. z o.o.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Fig. 1.

Demographic characteristics of the study group vs controls

Degree of kidney echotextural alterations in the subjects vs controls

Kidney echogenicity in chronically exposed workers and comparison with their control

Urea and creatinine levels in exposed workers vs controls

Parole chiave
renal echotextural changes, ultrasound, exposure, petroleum-based liquid fuels