US vs. CT for Kidney Stones

Dr. Adam Webb

Background


Kidney stones are not uncommon in the ED, and with the explosion of CT scanners we often scan patients looking specifically for stones. However, this exposes a lot of patients to perhaps unnecessary radiation.

 I picked this article because I had a patient who was too large for our CT scanner, and I was interested in how accurate and reliable other imaging modalities are in the diagnosis of nephrolithiasis. While this study did not directly answer my question, as obese patients were excluded, it did shed light on the role ultrasonography can play in diagnosing kidney stones in the ED.

Article

Ultrasonography versus Computed Tomography for Suspected Nephrolithiasis

N Engl J Med 2014; 371:1100-1110

DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1404446

Study Design

This was a multicenter, pragmatic, comparative effectiveness trial. Patients were randomly assigned to ultrasonography performed by ED physicians, or by radiology, or abdominal CT scan. Primary endpoint was 30-day incidence of high-risk diagnoses with complications that could be related to missed or delayed diagnosis and the 6-month cumulative radiation exposure. Secondary outcomes were serious adverse events, pain, return to the ED, hospitalizations, and diagnostic accuracy. 

Results

Conclusion


Application

Starting with US for high suspicion of kidney stone as the primary diagnosis is not unreasonable.