How to Detect Kidney Cysts

Nowadays, Kidney Cyst becomes a serious disease, which can develop into Kidney Failure, threatening people’s life. Many patients with Kidney Cysts don’t know what examinations that they should take. In order to help people to understand Kidney Cysts further, we will talk about how to detect Kidney Cysts.

1. Laboratory tests
For healthy people, urinalysis mostly presents to be normal. Microscopic hematuria is rarely seen. Kidney function tests also are normal, except multiple or bilateral cysts which are rarely seen. If one side kidney is damaged widely, the total renal function is normal because of compensatory hypertrophy on other side kidneys.

2. X-ray examination
Renal tomography X-ray photography can increase the contrast ratio between renal parenchyma with blood vessel and cysts. Occasionally, renal parenchyma tumors have a relatively avascular, which is easy to confuse with cysts. In few cases, cyst walls also can have tumour. Therefore, patients need to take further examination.

3. CT scan
CT is the most accurate to identify kidney cysts and tumour. Density of cyst fluid is similar to water density, while density of tumour is similar to normal renal parenchyma. After intravenous injection of contrast agent, renal parenchyma becomes denser, but cysts aren’t affected. Renal parenchyma has an obvious boundary with cyst walls, while there is no boundary with tumour. In many ways, CT is better than puncture fluid to identify cysts and tumour.

4. Kidney ultrasound examination
Ultrasound examination accounts for a large proportion when identify kidney cysts and real mass with non-invasive diagnostic techniques. When ultrasound examination reveals cysts in line with the image, cysts can be punctured to extract cyst fluid under the surveillance of the ultrasound image.

5. Isotope scanning Line scan can show mass profile, but it is hard to differentiate cysts and tumour.
Hope what mentioned above is helpful. If you want to know more about the examination of kidney cysts or the treatment, you can email to renalhealth@hotmail.com. We will do our best to help you.