Test yourself
Renal colic: listen with colour
5 questions. Pick an answer to see whether you are right and why. Your score appears at the end.
Question 1What does a ureteric jet show on colour Doppler?
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Answer a. Ureteric peristalsis squirts urine into the bladder every few seconds. Colour Doppler detects the moving urine as a flame of colour from the ureteric orifice.
Question 2A patient with left loin pain has a right ureteric jet and no left jet after three minutes. The left kidney shows moderate hydronephrosis. What does this support?
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Answer a. An absent jet on the painful side, with hydronephrosis on the same side, supports ureteric obstruction. Bladder outlet obstruction affects both kidneys and both jets.
Question 3Both ureteric jets look weak, and the bladder is almost empty. What is the most likely explanation?
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Answer a. Jets depend on urine production. A dry patient or an empty bladder gives weak or absent jets on both sides. Rehydrate and rescan before reading anything into it.
Question 4Why do you watch for at least two to three minutes?
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Answer a. Ureteric peristalsis produces jets every few seconds to a minute or more. A short look gives a false impression of an absent jet.
Question 5A 68-year-old presents with first-time left loin pain and haematuria. What else must you scan?
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Answer b. A leaking abdominal aortic aneurysm presents with loin pain and haematuria and mimics renal colic. In a patient over 50 with first-time renal colic, scan the aorta.
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