Evaluation of the Emergency Imaging Strategy for the Diagnostic Management of Renal Colic

Emergency imaging is necessary for the diagnostic management of renal colic in the emergency department. Ultrasound is rapidly available and non-irradiating, allowing to look for a stone and a pyelocalic dilatation. But it is less sensitive when the stone is ureteral. CT has a sensitivity of 96% and a specificity of 100%. The latest French recommendations date from 2008, recommending ultrasound and an unprepared abdomen in cases of uncomplicated renal colic. For the European Society of Radiology, ultrasound should be the first-line examination. The place of a systematic CT scan as first-line examination for the diagnosis of renal colic in the emergency department is therefore still under discussion. An evaluation of practice will make it possible to assess the imaging strategy applied in an emergency department.