[Significance of the CT scan in renal tuberculosis]

To elucidate the features and clinical significance of CT scan in the diagnosis of renal tuberculosis.

The CT findings and the clinical characteristics of 42 cases with renal TB were retrospectively analyzed.

Unilateral renal TB was found in 34 cases, bilateral in 8 cases. The typical CT features were characterized by one or more cysts surrounding the calyx with thin adjacent cortex (34/50), thickened wall of ureters and calyx, hydronephrosis (22/50) and kidney calcification (8/50). Atypical features presented with single or multiple low density nodes in the renal parenchyma (6/50). 30 patients receiving contrast enhanced CT scan showed that intensified Hu (by 20 approximately 120 HU) in the affected kidney. Multiple lymph nodes calcification in abdomen was found in 2 patients, calcification and low density nodes in spleen and liver in 4 patients, vertebral damage and paravertebral abscess in 6 patients and post-abdominal abscess in 1 patient.

CT scan examination is not only useful in the diagnosis of renal tuberculosis, but also of significance in assessing the severity of the disease, renal function and the involvement of other organs in the abdomen.