Renal arteriovenous malformation mimicking hydronephrosis-hidden danger

Point‐of‐care renal ultrasound: Are longitudinal views of the kidney alone sufficient to rule out hydronephrosis?

Objective

Point‐of‐care ultrasound for the detection of hydronephrosis is frequently used by emergency physicians. The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of longitudinal views of the kidney compared with a combination of longitudinal and transverse views of the kidney on emergency physician–performed renal point‐of‐care ultrasound to detect hydronephrosis.

Methods

This was a retrospective case‐control study of patients who received a renal point‐of‐care ultrasound examination performed and interpreted as hydronephrosis in the emergency department (ED). These were then matched with a cohort of kidneys from different patients without hydronephrosis. Longitudinal ultrasound views and transverse ultrasound views were reviewed for the presence of hydronephrosis by ultrasound‐trained emergency physicians. The gold standard of hydronephrosis was an overall interpretation based on the complete ultrasound examination consisting of both transverse and longitudinal views by ultrasound‐trained emergency physicians.

Results

Renal point‐of‐care ultrasound exams from 140 kidneys performed in the ED were enrolled in the study. The sensitivity and specificity of longitudinal ultrasound views compared with a combination of longitudinal and transverse ultrasound views of the kidney as a gold standard were 84.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 77.2–89.9) and 92.9% (95% CI, 87.3–96.5), the positive predictive value was 92.2% (95% CI, 86.1–96.2), and the negative predictive value was 85.5% (95% CI, 78.9–90.7). The positive and negative likelihood ratios were 11.8 (95% CI, 6.5–21.5) and 0.2 (95% CI, 0.1–0.2), respectively.

Conclusions

Longitudinal views of the kidney on ultrasound showed good sensitivity and specificity to detect the presence of hydronephrosis compared with a combination of longitudinal and transverse ultrasound views of the kidney. However, a combination of longitudinal and transverse ultrasound views may still be warranted in high‐risk patients or in those with inadequate visualization of the upper pole of the kidney.

Congenital renal arteriovenous malformation with cirsoid and cavernosal-type characteristics: a case report

Renal arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are infrequent vascular morphological anomalies. About 20% of AVMs are congenital renal AVMs (CRAVMs). A 53-year-old female patient presented with a 5-day history of gross hematuria and right flank pain. The patient underwent the selective renal arteriography and embolization under local anesthesia. Renal computed tomography angiography (CTA) and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) results showed bleeding of the right renal arteriovenous malformation, both nidus and aneurysm, which indicated that the patient had both cirsoid and cavernosal types of CRAVM. Endovascular management was chosen to treat the patient. The patient was cured and discharged, then followed-up for 3 months. These results show that early identification using radiologic tests is important for diagnosis and treatment of CRAVM.

A rare case of spontaneous rupture of renal artery pseudoaneurysm in a previously hypertensive patient

Introduction. The renal artery and segmental renal artery pseudoaneurysm is a rare and usually asymptomatic vascular lesion which in most of the cases thrombose spontaneously, but at same time it can be a source of life-threatening hemorrhage and shock. Today, these pseudoaneurysms are discovered with increasing frequency due to unrelated abdominal imaging or on screening work-ups for hypertension, as well as widespread use of angiography. Typically, they are seen in patients after trauma, inflammation, or renal surgery or biopsy. Case outline. In our case, a 52-year-old male patient with no prior history of surgery, significant abdominal trauma and systemic disease, presented with left flank pain and signs of hypovolemic shock that manifested before the admission in the surgical emergency room. The CT scan promptly demonstrated rupture of large retroperitoneal hematoma with the massive intraperitoneal hemorrhage. The angiography confirmed the rupture of the renal artery pseudoaneurysm. The patient had the urgent operation. A life-saving nephrectomy was performed while intraperitoneal hemorrhage and retroperitoneal hematoma was evacuated. The fourteen days after surgery the patient was discharged fully recovered, with normal diuresis and serum levels of creatinine and urea within referential values. During the period of hospitalization, he was diagnosed and treated hypertension. Conclusion. Rupture of pseudoaneurysms with the following hemorrhage into the intraperitoneal cavity and retroperitoneum is a life-threatening condition, as proven with this case in which hypovolemic shock manifested before the admission. We would like to highlight the importance of high blood-pressure control and the importance of regular check-ups.