Colour Doppler sonography and plain abdominal radiography in the management of patients with renal colic

To assess whether the routine use of urography (IVU) is still needed in the management of patients with renal colic and suspected ureteral calculus obstruction, we prospectively evaluated 52 patients with renal colic by a combination of colour Doppler ultrasound (CDU) and plain abdominal radiography (KUB). Forty-six patients (88.4%) were successfully treated without the need for IVU. Urography was required as a pre-lithotripsy procedure (n = 4) and to confirm non-dilated ureteral calculus obstruction uropathy (n = 2). The inean resistive index (RI) in normal subjects (n = 14) was 0.62 ± 0.06 and in obstructed kidneys (n = 37) was 0.68 ± 0.07, the difference being statistically significant (p << 0.001 ). Eight patients with functionally significant high-grade obstruction had a mean RJ of 0.69 ± 0.06, absent ureteral jet and interrenal RI difference >0.07. CDU and KUB provide anatomical and functional information sufficient for the management of the great majority of patients with renal colic without the use of urography.Correspondence to: M. C. Haddad