Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: Urolithiasis is a common urinary tract pathology that can affect all age groups. All abdominal organs are imaged with computed tomography (CT) taken for urolithiasis. Therefore, renal and extrarenal incidental findings (IFs) may be encountered. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the incidence of IF in the patients who took abdominal CT for urolithiasis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Patients referred to the outpatient clinic with a pre-diagnosis of urolithiasis and who took abdominal CT between January 2019 and 2020 were evaluated retrospectively. One thousand fifty-six patients were included in the study. IFs were classified as renal - extrarenal, clinically significant - clinically insignificant findings. Clinically significant findings were evaluated in the over-65 and under-65 age groups. Patients requiring additional imaging and procedures were evaluated as a clinically significant patient group. RESULTS: Five hundred and forty-nine (52%) of 1056 patients were male, and 507 (48%) were female. The mean age of the patients was 50.55 ± 14.95 years. Six hundred and forty-five (61%) patients had urinary stones, IF was found in 675 (63.9%) patients. Three hundred and four renal IFs were present in 302 (28.59%) patients. In 383 (36.26%) patients, 725 extrarenal findings were detected. Ten patients had both renal and extrarenal IF. In the extrarenal IFs, 413 (56.8%) patients had findings in the hepatobiliary system, 136 (18.7%) patients in the gastrointestinal system, and 41 patients (5.6%) in the adrenal gland. Clinically significant IFs were detected in 47 (4.45%) patients. Clinically significant IF was detected in 7.23% in the patient group over 65 years of age and 3.71% in the under-65 age group. CONCLUSIONS: IFs are common in abdominal CT and most of them are clinically insignificant. The presence of clinically significant IF increases with age. It should be kept in mind that especially in elderly patients, the early detection of these findings in the asymptomatic period increases the survival and treatment chances of the patients.

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