Date: December 16th, 2019  

Reference: Moore et al. Imaging in Suspected Renal Colic: Systematic Review of the Literature and Multispecialty Consensus. Annals of EM, JU, and JACR 2019.

Guest Skeptics: Dr. Christopher Moore is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine a Yale School of Medicine. He is also the Chief for the Section of Emergency Ultrasound and Director of the Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship.

Dr. Kevan Sternberg is an Associate Professor of Urology at the University of Vermont Medical Center.

This is an SGEM Xtra and is a result of a paper that was published in three journals (Annals of EM, Journal of Urology and Journal of the American College of Radiology). The paper was about what is the best diagnostic imaging modality for renal colic.

Renal Colic on the SGEM:

* SGEM#4: Getting Unstoned

* SGEM#32: Stone Me

* SGEM#71: Like a Rolling Stone

* SGEM#97: Hippy Hippy Shake – Ultrasound Vs. CT Scan for Diagnosing Renal Colic

* SGEM#154: Here I Go Again, Kidney Stone

* SGEM#202: Lidocaine for Renal Colic?

* SGEM#220: Acupuncture Morphine for Renal Colic

* SGEM#230: Tamsulosin – You’ve Lost that Loving Feeling – For Renal Colic

There are greater than two million annual emergency department (ED) visits for suspected renal colic in the United States, and computed tomography (CT) scanning is now performed for more than 90% of patients who receive a diagnosis of kidney stone.

Despite a significant increase in CT use for diagnosis during the last two decades, patient-centered outcomes such as admission and intervention do not appear to have been affected.

There was a trial published in 2014 comparing radiology department ultrasound, POCUS and CT for suspected nephrolithiasis (Smith-Bindman et al. NEJM 2014). We covered this on SGEM#97 with Dr. Tony Seupaul and Dr. Spencer Wright. The bottom line from that episode was bedside emergency department ultrasound is safe and has several advantages over CT for the diagnosis of kidney stones.

Despite this evidence, recent data suggest that ultrasonography is used for less than 7% of patients receiving a diagnosis of kidney stone, and CT use has continued to increase. Similarly, although reduced-radiation-dose CT is recommended for the evaluation of renal colic, it is used for less than 10% of patients with kidney stone.

What did you do in this study?

We sought out a nine-member panel with representation from three specialty societies: ACEP, the American College of Radiology, and the American Urological Association.

How did you decide who was on the panel?