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Parapelvic Cysts: An Imaging Marker of Kidney Disease Potentially Leading to the Diagnosis of Treatable Rare Genetic Disorders? A Narrative Review of the Literature

Journal of Nephrology volume 35, pages 2035–2046 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

Simple renal cysts are a common finding during abdominal imaging assessment. The incidence increases with age and it is higher in male gender. Parapelvic cysts are a subset of simple cysts that arise within the renal parenchyma, adjacent to the renal sinus, characterized by being generally single, larger, and incompletely surrounded by renal parenchyma. Noteworthy, parapelvic cysts are a rare and understudied condition which, although considered clinically insignificant due to the absence of influence on renal function, still have a controversial aetiopathogenesis. On the other hand, urological management and differential diagnosis have been thoroughly investigated. The aim of our review is to provide an overall vision on this rare condition, usually misdiagnosed and underestimated, on the basis of more recent data. An accurate differential diagnosis of parapelvic cysts can lead to the identification of treatable conditions such as Fabry disease, autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, polycystic liver disease and tuberous sclerosis complex disease.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health, Chair of Nephrology “Federico II”, University of Naples, Via Sergio Pansini, 5, 80131, Naples, Italy

    Ivana Capuano & Antonio Pisani

  2. Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples, Italy

    Pasquale Buonanno & Felice Crocetto

  3. Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation, National Research Council of Italy, Palermo, Italy

    Eleonora Riccio

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  1. Ivana Capuano
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Capuano, I., Buonanno, P., Riccio, E. et al. Parapelvic Cysts: An Imaging Marker of Kidney Disease Potentially Leading to the Diagnosis of Treatable Rare Genetic Disorders? A Narrative Review of the Literature. J Nephrol 35, 2035–2046 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40620-022-01375-0

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Keywords

  • Simple renal cyst
  • Bosniak classification
  • Parapelvic cyst
  • Kidney injury
  • ADPKD
  • PLD
  • TSC
  • Fabry disease