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Point-of-Care Kidney and Genitourinary Ultrasound in Adults: Image Acquisition
Published on: June 21, 2024
Imaging of hematuria
Owen J O'Connor1, Edward Fitzgerald, Michael M Maher
1Department of Radiology, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
AJR. American Journal of Roentgenology
|September 23, 2010
Summary
Conventional radiography is not recommended for detecting urinary tract cancers. Low-dose CT is more sensitive for kidney stones than radiography, and multi-detector CT urography is now preferred over excretory urography for evaluating hematuria.
Area of Science:
- Urologic imaging
- Diagnostic radiology
Background:
- Hematuria evaluation requires accurate imaging.
- Traditional methods have limitations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the current status of imaging modalities for hematuria of urologic origin.
- To discuss the impact of various imaging techniques on patient evaluation.
Main Methods:
- Review of radiography, excretory urography, retrograde pyelography, and sonography.
- Discussion of diagnostic capabilities and limitations.
Main Results:
- Conventional radiography is ineffective for detecting renal or urothelial carcinoma.
- Low-dose CT demonstrates higher sensitivity for urinary tract calculi compared to radiography.
- Ultrasound alone is insufficient for comprehensive hematuria imaging, struggling to differentiate transitional cell carcinoma from other filling defects.
Conclusions:
- Multi-detector CT (MDCT) urography is now the preferred imaging modality over excretory urography for hematuria evaluation.
- Radiography has no role in detecting urothelial or renal cell carcinoma.
- Ultrasound has limitations in differentiating specific pathologies within the renal collecting system.
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