北原 聡史¹, 岡 薫¹, 竹原 靖明², 久田 祐一², 山田 清勝², 関根 英明³, 永松 秀樹³

Satoshi KITAHARA¹, Kaoru OKA¹, Yasuaki TAKEHARA², Yuichi HISADA², Kiyokatsu YAMADA², Hideaki SEKINE³, Hideki NAGAMATSU³

¹関東中央病院泌尿器科, ²関東中央病院画像診断科, ³東京医科歯科大学医学部泌尿器科

¹Department of Urology, Kanto Central Hospital, ²Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Kanto Central Hospital, ³Department of Urology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, School of Medicine

キーワード : Ultrasonography, Kidney, Central echoes, An- or hypo-echoic area

　he kidneys of 759 urological patients were examined by ultrasound as a part of abdominal screening for the last 2 years. They were studied because of abdominal pain, hematuria, urinary tract infection and so on. 112 cases (14.8%) of them showed an- or hypo-echoic areas of the renal central echoes (RCE) in echogram. 107 patients underwent further examination such as excretory urogram, CT, ultrasonically guided puncture. We found out 67 cases (62.2%) of hydronephrosis, 18 (16.8%) of parapelvic cyst, 10 (9.3%) of renal sinus lipomatosis, 1 (0.9%) of extra-renal pelvis, and 13 (12.1%) of normal kidney. It has been reported in the literature that several kinds of renal diseases demonstrate an- or hypo-echoic areas of the RCE. We can not always discriminate among these diseases and are sometimes puzzled in the diagnosis by ultrasound alone. For example, of the cases which show hydronephrosis-like-echograms, we often encounter normal kidneys and other kinds of renal diseases. Therefore, the appearances of an- or hypo-echoic areas of the RCE are named in our clinic for convenience as the "splitting" of the RCE. We make further examination systematically of these cases.