Review of techniques for ultrasonic determination of kidney stone size

摘要

IntroductionImaging is a vital cog in the wheel of diagnosis and management of patients suspected with renal and ureteric calculi, and it is imperative to choose the appropriate investigation that is accurate as well as safe for the patient. At present, computed tomography (CT) is the gold standard for a patient suspected to have stone disease. However, CT scan is associated with the hazards of radiation and high cost. Ultrasonography (US) is cheap and also devoid of any radiation hazard to the patient. But, at the same time, its usage is limited by decreased sensitivity and specificity, inaccuracy in measuring stone size, and observer dependency. In this article, we review the techniques to improve the accuracy of US in measuring stone size.