Renal artery aneurysm: diagnosis and surveillance with multidetector-row computed tomography

Purpose: To investigate the prevalence of renal artery aneurysms, and to assess the value of multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) in diagnosing renal artery aneurysms.

Material and Methods: Altogether, 862 patients underwent arterial-phase contrast-enhanced CT scan of the abdomen in the period November 2003 to October 2005. A search for renal artery aneurysms was performed in our reporting system and revealed six patients with renal artery aneurysm (RAA).

Results: The incidence of RAA was 0.7%. All renal artery aneurysms were solitary, located in the main trunk or the first branch of the renal artery, with sizes from 1.5?cm to 3.4?cm. Five aneurysms were saccular, one fusiform. No underlying thrombosis was seen. Extensive calcification was found in one aneurysm. Three aneurysms were diagnosed using axial images, while three aneurysms were only displayed by volume rendering and maximum-intensity projection images.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates a 0.7% incidence of renal artery aneurysms in a total of 862 patients. MDCT has an important role in detecting and assessing renal artery aneurysms. Some aneurysms can only be displayed by post-processing techniques such as volume rendering and maximum-intensity projection.