Renal Ultrasound in suspected pyelonephritis
How useful is renal Ultrasound in the workup of suspected pyelonephritis?
Gray-scale US is limited in its ability to depict acute pyelonephritis. The sensitivity of US is increased, however, when power Doppler US is used.
The latter technique is an advance in Doppler US that depicts normal and abnormal blood flow in a manner that is independent of the direction of the flow; power Doppler is more sensitive than routine color Doppler. Renal US may also be used to assess for significant renal scarring secondary to chronic pyelonephritis. Small focal scars may be difficult to detect with US.