CT urography: how to optimize the technique

Purpose

Computed tomography urography (CTU) has emerged as the modality of choice for imaging the urinary tract within the past few decades. It is a powerful tool that enables detailed anatomic evaluation of the urinary tract in order to identify primary urothelial malignancies, benign urinary tract conditions, and associated abdominopelvic pathologies. As such, there have been extensive efforts to optimize CTU protocol.

Methods

This article reviews the published literature on CTU protocol optimization, including contrast bolus timing, dose reduction, reconstruction algorithms, and ancillary practices.

Conclusion

There have been many advances in CTU techniques, which allow for imaging diagnosis of a wide spectrum of diseases while minimizing radiation dose and maximizing urinary tract distension and opacification.