Emergency department imaging protocol for suspected acute renal colic: re-evaluating our service

Objectives: The objective of our study is to determine the positive rate for urolithiasis in male and female patients, and evaluate whether there has been any change at our institution in the use and outcome of unenhanced multidetector CT (CT KUB) performed in the emergency department (ER) for patients presenting with suspected acute renal colic. Methods: A retrospective review of all 1357 consecutive cases between August 2007 and August 2009 admitted to the ER and investigated with CT KUB. Results: The positive rate for urolithiasis was 47.5% and the rate of other significant findings was 10%. Female patients had a significantly lower positive rate than male patients (26.8% vs 61.6%, p 4 mm), the presence of hydronephrosis vs no hydronephrosis was 83% vs 17%, respectively. Among them, only three patients required ureteroscopy for s...