Can ultrasound and computed tomography replace high-dose urography in patients with impaired renal function?
Ninety-one patients with unexplained impaired renal function were investigated by high-dose urography, ultrasound and computed tomography (CT) without contrast. The aim was to evaluate the role of ultrasound and CT in renal failure, in particular their ability to define renal length and to show collecting system dilatation. In the majority of patients, renal length could be measured accurately by ultrasound. Measurements were less that those at urography because of the absence of magnification. Renal measurement by CT was not a sufficiently accurate indicator of renal length to be of clinical use. Both ultrasound and CT were sensitive detectors of collecting system dilatation: neither technique missed any case diagnosed by urography. However, in the presence of staghorn calculi or multiple cysts, neither ultrasound nor CT could exclude collecting system dilatation. CT was the only technique which demonstrated retroperitoneal nodes or fibrosis causing obstruction. It is proposed that th
