Infundibulopelvic angle assessment: non-contrast computed tomography vs. traditional methods

This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a novel methodology for quantifying the infundibulopelvic angle using non-contrast computed tomography with conventional techniques involving intravenous urography or retrograde pyelography. We retrospectively analyzed 35 patients who underwent 64 simultaneous kidney multirow computed tomography scans and intravenous urography or retrograde pyelography. The infundibulopelvic angle values were measured for each patient. A paired t-test was conducted to compare the infundibulopelvic angle measurement values derived from the computed tomography scans with those obtained through intravenous urography or retrograde pyelography. The mean age of the cohort was 48.86 ± 16.21 years, with 26 males and 9 females. The mean infundibulopelvic angle measured via computed tomography was 41.58 ± 16.15°, compared with 42.02 ± 16.96° using traditional methods. The paired t-test results did not indicate a statistically significant difference between the values obtained using the two measurement methods (p > 0.05). Thus, the infundibulopelvic angle measurements derived from non-contrast computed tomography scans were found to be comparable to those obtained using traditional contrast-based imaging techniques. This new methodology offers clinical simplicity, obviates the need for intravenous contrast agents, mitigates financial expenditures, and potentially shortens the duration of hospitalization for patients.