Kidney ultrasound

• Delay, frequent urge, small or, conversely, large amounts of urine.
• Change of urine: turbidity, the appearance of sludge, flakes, blood, pus, and other changes.
• Peripheral edema of eyes, face and lower extremities, which occurs in the morning,.
• Recurring or constant pain in the lumbar region.
• High blood pressure, especially in diastolic.
• Frequent headaches.
• Anemia.

EAT/DRINK: Drink a minimum of 24 ounces of clear fluid at least one hour before your appointment. Do not empty your bladder prior to the procedure. Generally, no prior preparation, such as fasting or sedation, is required.

Your physician will explain the procedure to you and offer you the opportunity to ask any questions that you might have about the procedure.

You may be asked to sign a consent form that gives your permission to do the procedure. Read the form carefully and ask questions if something is not clear.

Based upon your medical condition, your physician may request other specific preparation.

What happens during a kidney ultrasound?

A kidney ultrasound may be performed on an outpatient basis or as part of your stay in a hospital. Although each facility may have different protocols in place, generally an ultrasound procedure follows this process:

• You will be asked to remove any clothing, jewelry, or other objects that may interfere with the scan.
• If asked to remove clothing, you will be given a gown to wear.
• You will lie on an examination table on your stomach.
• Ultrasound gel is placed on the area of the body that will undergo the ultrasound examination.
• Using a transducer, a device that sends out the ultrasound waves, the ultrasound wave will be sent through that patient's body.
• The sound will be reflected off structures inside the body, and the ultrasound machine will analyze the information from the sound waves.
• The ultrasound machine will create images of these structures on a monitor. These images will be stored digitally.
• If the bladder is examined, you will be asked to empty your bladder after scans of the full bladder have been completed. Additional scans will be made of the empty bladder.
• There are no confirmed adverse biological effects on patients or instrument operators caused by exposures to ultrasound at the intensity levels used in diagnostic ultrasound.

While the kidney ultrasound procedure itself causes no pain, having to lie still for the length of the procedure may cause slight discomfort, and the clear gel will feel cool and wet. The technologist will use all possible comfort measures and complete the procedure as quickly as possible to minimize any discomfort.

• Urolithiasis (kidney stones)
• Cysts
• Malignant tumors.
• Acute and chronic inflammatory diseases of the kidneys and complications: abscess, paranephritis, and others.
• Congenital pathological changes of the pelvicalyceal system: doubling, hypoplasia, etc.
• Obstruction of the urinary tract, manifested by extension of one or both kidneys.
• Various pathological conditions of the renal vessels.
• Traumatic injury of the kidneys.