Comparison of ultrasound versus computed tomography for the detection of kidney stones in the pediatric population: a clinical effectiveness study

Abstract

Background: The incidence of pediatric nephrolithiasis in the United States is increasing. There is a paucity of literature comparing the diagnostic performance of computed ultrasound (US) to tomography (CT) in the pediatric population. Objective: To determine the diagnostic performance of renal US for nephrolithiasis in children using a clinical effectiveness approach. Materials and methods: Institutional review board approval with a waiver of informed consent was obtained for this retrospective, HIPAA-complaint investigation. Billing records and imaging reports were used to identify children (≤18 years old) evaluated for nephrolithiasis by both US and unenhanced CT within 24 h between March 2012 and March 2017. Imaging reports were reviewed for presence, number, size and location of kidney stones. Diagnostic performance of US (reference standard=CT) was calculated per renal unit (left/right kidney) and per renal sector (four sectors per kidney). For sector analysis, US was considered truly positive if a stone was identified at CT in the same or an adjacent sector. Results: There were 68 renal stones identified by CT in 30/69 patients (43%). Mean patient age was 14.7±3.6 years, and 35 were boys. For detecting nephrolithiasis in any kidney, US was 66.7% (48.8–80.8%) sensitive and 97.4% (86.8–99.9%) specific (positive predictive value=95.2% [77.3–99.8%], negative predictive value=79.2% [65.7–88.3%], positive likelihood ratio=26.0). Per renal sector, US was 59.7% (46.7–71.4%) sensitive and 97.4% (95.5–98.5%) specific (positive predictive value=72.3% [58.2–83.1%], negative predictive value=95.4% [93.2–96.9%], positive likelihood ratio=22.5). Of the 30 stones not detected by US, only 3 were >3 mm at CT. Conclusion: In clinical practice, US has high specificity for detecting nephrolithiasis in children but only moderate sensitivity and false negatives are common.