Diagnostic accuracy of transabdominal ultrasonography in Urolithiasis, keeping CT KUB as Gold standard

Abstract

Background: Every year, around half a million people visit hospitals for flank pain. According to studies, 1 out of 10 individuals have a risk of forming renal stones in their lifetime

Objective: To find diagnostic accuracy of transabdominal ultrasound in urolithiasis, keeping CT KUB gold standard.

Methodology: A cross-sectional analytical study was performed at University of Lahore teaching hospital, Lahore duration of 4 months. 114 patients included in study with flank pain, Ultrasonography was conducted on all patients with full urine bladders using the Transabdominal technique with comparison comprehensive KUB image of non-enhanced CT (Toshiba 64) was conducted from the abdomen to the pelvis.

Results: Age of the study participants ranged between 12 to 85 years with mean age 39.3 + 16.4 years. Out of 114 participants 53 (46.5%) were females and 61 (53.5%) were males. On CT KUB, total 94 (82.5%) participants were positive for urolithiasis and 20 (17.5%) were negative. On ultrasound, 68 (59.6%) participants were found positive for urolithiasis and 46 (40.4%) were found negative. The sensitivity of ultrasound was 71.28%, specificity was 95%, PPV was 98.5%, NPV was 41.3% and diagnostic accuracy was found to be 75.4%.

Conclusion: In our study, ultrasound showed a good diagnostic sensitivity of 71.2% for diagnosing urolithiasis. Preliminary diagnosis can be made through ultrasound, as it is safe and widely available modality. 

Key words: Non-enhanced Computed Tomography, Ultrasound, Ureteric Calculi, Radiation, Computed Tomography