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State of the art: imaging of renal infections

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Abstract

Infections of the urinary tract are common and account for a large number of patient encounters in the ambulatory and emergency department setting. Their severity and presentation varies, and although uncomplicated infections can often be diagnosed and treated based on clinical and laboratory findings alone, diagnostic imaging may be necessary in some cases to guide appropriate medical or surgical therapy. We will briefly describe the indications for imaging known or suspected upper urinary tract infections, and the relative benefits and limitations of the different imaging modalities for a given clinical presentation. This will be followed by a discussion of various types of renal infections with a pictorial review of their imaging appearances and differential diagnoses.

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Abbreviations

UTI:

Urinary tract infection

CT:

computed tomography

IVU:

intravenous urography

MRI:

magnetic resonance imaging

US:

ultrasound

XGPN:

xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, 510 South Kingshighway Boulevard, Campus Box 8131, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA

    Jennifer Demertzis & Christine O. Menias

Authors
  1. Jennifer Demertzis
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  2. Christine O. Menias
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jennifer Demertzis.

Additional information

This lecture was originally presented at the American Society of Emergency Radiology annual meeting in Washington DC on September 30, 2006.

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Demertzis, J., Menias, C.O. State of the art: imaging of renal infections. Emerg Radiol 14, 13–22 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10140-007-0591-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10140-007-0591-3

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