Congress:
EuroSafe Imaging 2020
Keywords:
Performed at one institution, Observational, Retrospective, Education and training, Radiation safety, Education, CT, Urinary Tract / Bladder, Radioprotection / Radiation dose, Genitourinary
Authors:
R. Karthigan, S. KUMAR, M. Murray, C. E. Munday , A. Datta, I. Theodoulou, S. Kulkarni, S. Aykac
DOI:
10.26044/esi2020/ESI-13260
Background/introduction
Urinary stone disease is common, with a lifetime prevalence of 12% for men and 6% for women.(1) Renal colic is a descriptor of the acute-onset, spasmodic loin pain that occurs when a urinary stone obstructs the ureter, leading to distension of urinary tract proximal to the stone.(2)
Computed tomography of the kidneys, ureters and bladder (CT KUB) is the gold-standard imaging investigation to assess patients with acute renal colic.(3) As such, it is commonly requested in acute settings in the diagnosis of urinary stone disease. CT KUB has a sensitivity of 97% and specificity of 95% for the diagnosis of urinary stones.(4) However, the disadvantage is that the scan imparts ionising radiation to the patient.
One way to reduce the radiation dose is by optimising the field of view (FoV) of the scan. To include the entire urinary tract, an FoV extending from the pubic symphysis to the T10-T12 vertebra has been suggested.(5) Extending further than these limits unnecessarily irradiates the patient with no further diagnostic yield.