Sonographic evaluation, prevalence and differential diagnosis of renal cyst

Abstract

Renal cysts are a common finding on routine ultrasound scans. Renal cysts are easily detected with ultrasound, with its low cost, non-invasiveness and no exposure to radiation, ultrasound is an exceptional method for primary evaluation of patients with cystic lesions. Most cysts detected by chance and are benign, but they can become complex if infection, bleeding, or ischemia occur. Objective: To assess the prevalence of renal cysts and find relationship with age and sex in the study group and to outline the differential diagnosis of renal cyst by ultrasonography. Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. An ultrasound examination was performed on 109 patients who were diagnosed with renal cysts. Cystic wall thickness, form, number of cysts, and acoustic enhancement were employed as sonographic criteria for evaluating renal cysts. Results: The incidence of renal cysts were more in females than in male s(52.3% vs. 47.7%). The majority of the cysts were solitary than multiple (69.7% vs. 30.3%). Most of the cysts were at lower pole cortical cysts (22.9%). Simple cyst was the most common type (90.8%), autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) was 6.4%. 59 patients were asymptomatic and 50 patients were symptomatic with flank pain as the most common symptom. Conclusions: Simple cysts are the most frequently found kidney cysts on ultrasound. Aging and hypertension were common risk factors related with renal cysts. End-stage renal failure is caused by ADPKD, which is the most prevalent genetic cause. Diagnosis and early detection of renal cyst is important, routine ultrasound scans for adults is advisable prior to getting any serious complication.