Explore the diagnostic value of color Doppler ultrasonography in renal vein embolism compared with contrast-enhanced CT. Analyze and summarize the sonographic features and reasons of misdiagnosis of renal vein embolism.

Reports of color Doppler ultrasonography and contrast-enhanced CT in 15 patients with 20 renal vein thrombosis and 25 patients with 25 renal vein tumor thrombosis were retrospectively analyzed. We summarized the sonographic features including the location of emboli, the lumen and wall of the involved veins, the information of collateral circulation and the color Doppler sonographic features.

The diagnostic accuracy of renal vein thrombosis and tumor thrombosis were 85% and 84% for ultrasound, 100% and 96% for contrast-enhanced CT, the difference was not statistically significant (all P>0.05). The typical sonographic features include (1) Expansion of the renal vein and full of solid echogenicity; (2) No flow signals or flow filling defect in renal veins; (3) No or sparse venous flow signal in the involved kidney.

Color Doppler ultrasonography and contrast-enhanced CT have a good consistency in the diagnosis of renal vein embolism. Color Doppler ultrasonography can be used as an important imaging method to evaluate the renal vein embolism, which can combine medical history and provide a more reliable basis for the diagnosis of renal vein embolism.