SONOGRAPHIC DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA IN THE EVALUATION OF SUSPECTED RENAL ARTERY STENOSIS

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: With the increase in life expectancy and the incidence of atheromatous disease, diabetes and hypertension in the population, the diagnosis for the adequate management of renal stenosis tends to become increasingly important. This trend is evidenced by the increase in the number of patients on dialysis. METHODS: In this review, comparative studies were collected on diagnostic criteria for Doppler ultrasound of renal artery stenosis published in the following databases: MEDLINE, LILACS and SciELO, according to criteria of impact, citation and visualization between the years 1973 and 2021. RESULTS: We selected 30 articles. We separated by diagnostic criteria for renal stenosis according to indirect and direct criteria, additional criteria and combination of criteria for their respective analyses. DISCUSSION: The criteria with better accuracy and greater support in works are the peak systolic velocity of the stenosis; the renal-aortic relationship and the combination of these two criteria. CONCLUSION: Although there is no consensus regarding the best way to diagnose renal artery stenosis on Doppler, it is evident that there is still room for its use as a population screening as well as for improving its accuracy.