Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (7)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Mohaupt, M.
Right arrow Articles by Vogt, B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Mohaupt, M.
Right arrow Articles by Vogt, B.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, Vol 14, Issue 4 940-943, Copyright © 1999 by Oxford University Press

TECHNICAL REPORT

3D ultrasound imaging - a useful non-invasive tool to detect AV fistulas in transplanted kidneys

M Mohaupt, M Perrig and B Vogt
Inselspital Bern, Department Innere Medizin, Abteilung Nephrologie/Hypertonie, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland; Corresponding author

Background. A precise, non-invasive, non-toxic repeatable, convenient and inexpensive follow-up of renal transplants, especially following biopsies, is in the interest of nephrologists. Formerly, the rate of biopsies leading to AV fistulas had been underestimated. Imaging procedures suited to a detailed judgement of these vascular malformations are to be assessed. Methods. Three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction techniques of ultrasound flow-directed and non-flow-directed energy mode pictures were compared with a standard procedure, gadolinium-enhanced nuclear magnetic resonance imaging angiography (MRA) using the phase contrast technique. Results. Using B-mode and conventional duplex information, AV fistulas were localized in the upper pole of the kidney transplant of the index patient. The 3D reconstruction provided information about the exact localization and orientation of the fistula in relation to other vascular structures, and the flow along the fistula. The MRA provided localization and orientation information, but less functional information. Flow-directed and non-flow-directed energy mode pictures could be reconstructed to provide 3D information about vascular malformations in transplanted kidneys. Conclusion. In transplanted kidneys, 3D-ultrasound angiography may be equally as effective as MRA in localizing and identifying AV malformations. Advantages of the ultrasound method are that it is cheaper, non-toxic, non-invasive, more widely available and that it even provides more functional information. Future prospective studies will be necessary to evaluate the two techniques further. Keywords: AV fistula; kidney transplantation; magnetic resonance angiography; renal biopsy; three-dimensional ultrasound
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.