Role of US Contrast Agents in the Assessment of Indeterminate Solid and Cystic Lesions in Native and Transplant Kidneys

Ultrasonography (US) is often the initial imaging modality employed in the evaluation of renal diseases. Despite improvements in B-mode and Doppler imaging, US still faces limitations in the assessment of focal renal masses and complex cysts as well as the microcirculation. The applications of contrast-enhanced US (CEUS) in the kidneys have dramatically increased to overcome these shortcomings with guidelines underlining their importance. This article describes microbubble contrast agents and their role in renal imaging. Microbubble contrast agents consist of a low solubility complex gas surrounded by a phospholipid shell. Microbubbles are extremely safe and well-tolerated pure intravascular agents that can be used in renal failure and obstruction, where computed tomographic (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging contrast agents may have deleterious effects. Their intravascular distribution allows for quantitative perfusion analysis of the microcirculation, diagnosis of vascular problems, and qualitative assessment of tumor vascularity and enhancement patterns. Low acoustic power real-time prolonged imaging can be performed without exposure to ionizing radiation and at lower cost than CT or MR imaging. CEUS can accurately distinguish pseudotumors from true tumors. CEUS has been shown to be more accurate than unenhanced US and rivals contrast material-enhanced CT in the diagnosis of malignancy in complex cystic renal lesions and can upstage the Bosniak category. CEUS can demonstrate specific enhancement patterns allowing the differentiation of benign and malignant solid tumors as well as focal inflammatory lesions. In conclusion, CEUS is useful in the characterization of indeterminate renal masses and cysts. Online supplemental material is available for this article. (C) RSNA, 2015