[Developmental aspect of renal suppurations. Apropos of 2 cases]

The authors set out to differentiate between two types of renal parenchymal suppuration in the light of two personal cases treated recently - renal abscess and localized acute bacterial nephritis (LABN), which is perhaps no more than a preliminary stage in the formation of a renal abscess. Case 1 concerns a LABN, diagnosed by CT scan. The treatment was purely medical and monitoring scans show no anomalies. Case 2 was a gathered abscess, also diagnosed by CT scan, and treated by surgical drainage. The interest of the differentiation between these two types of suppuration is essentially therapeutic. Once gathered, the abscess must be drained surgically, whereas the LABN can be treated medically, with close supervision to ensure complete cure. The differential diagnosis between the two is mainly by scanner, with a study of the respective densities.