Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound of the Urinary Tract

Book excerpt: This book examines in detail the diagnostic impact of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in the evaluation of urinary tract pathology, paying particular attention to the diagnostic gain that may be expected in relation to other imaging techniques such as CT and MRI. The role of contrast-enhanced ultrasound is evaluated in a range of pathologies, including ischemia, trauma, inflammation, cystic lesions, and solid tumors, as well as in the imaging of anatomic variants. New applications, for example monitoring of kidney transplantation, assessment of urinary bladder lesions, and diagnosis of vesico-ureteric reflux, are also covered. The presented cases, drawn from the authors’ personal clinical caseload, include images obtained using multimodality techniques, sometimes with 3D CT reconstruction. The authors’ own experiences are compared with the most recent reports in the scientific literature.