• C U Eze, K K Agwu, D N Ezeasor, K K Agwuna, and A E Aronu.
• Department of Medical Radiography and Radiological Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences and Technology, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Enugu State, Nigeria.
• Afr Health Sci. 2014 Mar 1; 14 (1): 246-54.

BackgroundClinical determination of mild splenomegaly is notoriously inaccurate.ObjectivesTo determine sonographically the spleen to left kidney ratio according to age and somatometric parameters among school age children in a tropical environment.MethodsA cross sectional study and convenience sampling were done on 947 apparently healthy subjects (496 boys and 451 girls) aged 6-17 years at the University of Nigeria Medical Centre, Nsukka. The sonographic examination was performed on Shenzhen DP-1100 machine with 3.5 and 5 MHz convex transducers. Spleen and left kidney lengths were obtained using appropriate techniques. The weight and height of the subjects were obtained with the participants wearing light weight street clothes without shoes.ResultsMeasurement of spleen and left kidney lengths were reliable within and between sonographers. The spleen and left kidney lengths were not statistically different in boys and girls (p > 0.05). The spleen to left kidney ratio according to age and somatometric parameters is constant at about 1.13 with 1.3 as the upper limit of normal in the studied population.ConclusionSonography can be used to detect mild splenomegaly if the spleen to left kidney ratio is greater than 1.3 in the absence of renal disease among school age children.

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