Potentials of ultrasonography for early diagnosis of primary chronic pyelonephritis.

Authors have studied retrospectively 44 patients with clinically proved primary chronic pyelonephritis with preserved renal function. The earliest sonographic changes consist of uneven renal outlines, PPI reduced below 1.5, irregular reduction of the renal parenchymal zone, slight increase in its echogenicity and disappearance of the image of the renal pyramids. These sonographic features can appear even when the renal concentration ability and isotope nephrogram with 131I-hippuran are not yet disturbed.