Medical treatment of renal and perirenal abscesses: CT evaluation

A retrospective study of our experience of CT evaluation and follow-up of 16 solitary and multiple renal abscesses treated successfully with antibiotics alone and evaluated with CT at the onset of symptoms and after therapy.

Seven patients had a solitary renal abscess, five had multiple renal abscesses and four had renal and perinephric abscess. None of the abscesses were larger than 5 cm.

In all 16 patients, the CT examination showed total renal and extrarenal regression of the abscesses. In four patients, scarring of the renal outline was observed on follow-up.

The study demonstrates the opportunity to avoid aggressive interventional or surgical treatment of renal and perirenal abscesses of 5-cm diameter or less which can completely regress after antibiotic therapy of at least 4 weeks. The CT examination results are important both in the diagnostic phase to establish the extent of the lesions and in the follow-up to check the results of medical treatment.