In the diagnosis of Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD), family medical history
is an important factor. As this disease has the characteristic of progressive
development, there is no obvious symptom at the beginning. However, the clinical
practice has proven that the earlier this disease is found and treated, the
better the treatment effects are. Therefore, the early diagnosis is of great
importance for the patients.
According to the clinical experience, many physicians are alerted to the
possibility of Polycystic Kidney Disease in three different settings: when
someone reports that there is a family history of this disease; when there are
signs and symptoms that commonly occur in this disease; or when a test is done
for some other reason and cysts are found in the kidney.
If there is family medical history of this disease, you had better take an
overall examination to find whether you have this disease in order to adopt
measures to delay the attack and the development of this disease. As we all
know, the clinical symptoms are always late than the pathology damage. Once the
damage take place, it is hard to recover the kidney completely. Therefore, the
best method is to find it before the damage.
At present, there are two main clinical tests that can be used to diagnose a
person with Polycystic Kidney Disease: ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) or
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).