[The usefulness of virtual endoscopy and CT urography in the diagnosis of upper urinary tract tumors].

Objectives: Upper urinary tract (UUT) tumors are a relatively low incidence pathology which often represents a diagnostic challenge for the urologist, because several imaging tests are usually necessary to achieve the final diagnosis. Over the last years CT scan has suffered a notable development and nowadays, with the arrival of new image processing hardware and software, it is possible to detect small urothelial lesions and to perform 3-D urinary tract reconstruction and virtual endoscopic navigation.

Methods: Between January 2004 and June 2005 we performed a total of 15 examinations in 15 patients for the study of asymptomatic hematuria of probable upper urinary tract origin. The technique included three phases to obtain images: basal phase, vascular phase and excretory phase. Processing and image analysis was performed by one radiologist.

Results: A total of 10 tumors were diagnosed, with pathological confirmation in all cases. We did not register any complication secondary to the technique, and all patients tolerated well the exam.

Conclusions: The CT urography is a safe, well-tolerated, highly sensitive and efficient imaging test, very useful in the diagnosis of renal and UUT pathology. It may become the only imaging test performed in the study of asymptomatic hematuria and the test of choice for the study of urological tumoral pathology.