US has also been shown to overestimate the stone size compared with CT, especially for small stones ≤ 5 mm. Ultrasonography (US) makes it possible to measure the stone dimensions in any plane however, the reproducibility of stone size measurements can be low because US does not offer the fixed planes like KUB or CT.

In addition, a magnification error with KUB can lead to an increase in stone size by 20%. A plain abdominal film (KUB) is generally viewed only in the coronal plane. The difference of imaging modalities can lead to the discrepancies in the measurement of the stone dimensions.

This review aims to summarize CT parameters for predicting the outcome of shock wave lithotripsy in stone cases in the upper urinary tract.Īlthough previous studies have shown that stone size is important factor for predicting SWL outcome and stones over 2 cm are associated with an inferior outcome, the imaging modality used for evaluating stone size varies among studies. In addition, a new method of analysis, CT texture analysis, is reportedly useful for predicting SWL outcomes. Several factors based on CT images, including skin-to-stone distance, mean stone density, stone heterogeneity index, and variation coefficient of stone density, have been reported to be useful for predicting SWL outcome. In recent years, computed tomography (CT) has become the gold standard for diagnosis of upper urinary tract calculi.

It is therefore important to identify predictive factors for SWL outcome and select a suitable treatment choice for patients with upper urinary tract calculi.

Shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) is the first line treatment choice for upper urinary tract calculi with ureteroscopy and has advantages of safety and noninvasiveness, but the treatment success rate of SWL is lower than that of other therapies. Kidney stones are a major public health concern with continuously increasing worldwide prevalence.

Vcsd editor