Renal angiography in sickle-cell disease. A preliminary report correlating the angiographic and urographic changes in sickle-cell nephropathy.

Abstract Eight patients with sickle-cell disease who had abnormal excretory urograms were studied by renal arteriography. There were no significant renal symptoms. The major urographic findings were distortion and blunting of the calyces (sickle-cell caliectasis), and the kidneys were either normal in size or enlarged. Angiography was correlated with the urographic changes, and the most common arteriographic finding was focal cortical hypertrophy. In one patient a pattern similar to brain convolutions (“pseudobrain” pattern) was produced. Marked thinning of the cortex and medullary hypertrophy were seen in 3 patients. Other arteriographic findings were scar formation, irregularity, and pruning of the arterial tree.