Opinion Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Nephrol. Sep 25, 2024; 13(3): 98300
Published online Sep 25, 2024. doi: 10.5527/wjn.v13.i3.98300
Ultrasound, contrast-enhanced ultrasound and pyelonephritis: A narrative review
Andrea Boccatonda, Roberta Stupia, Carla Serra
Andrea Boccatonda, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences (DIMEC), University of Bologna, Bologna 40126, Italy
Roberta Stupia, Department of General Medicine C, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata of Verona, University of Verona, Verona 37134, Italy
Carla Serra, Department of Medical Liver Transplant Care, General and University Hospital S. Orsola-Malpighi, Bologna 40138, Italy
Co-first authors: Andrea Boccatonda and Roberta Stupia.
Author contributions: Boccatonda A was responsible for the conceptualization; Stupia R was responsible for the writing and editing; Serra C was responsible for expert review; All authors have read and approved the final manuscript. Boccatonda A and Stupia R collaborated equally in the study conception, data collection and manuscript writing efforts that were crucial to this study’s successful completion, meriting the co-first authorship designation.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Andrea Boccatonda, MD, Research Fellow, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences (DIMEC), University of Bologna, Via Zamboni N 33, Bologna 40126, Italy. andrea.boccatonda2@unibo.it
Received: June 24, 2024
Revised: July 26, 2024
Accepted: August 5, 2024
Published online: September 25, 2024
Processing time: 87 Days and 3.2 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Acute pyelonephritis (APN) is a kidney inflammation typically due to an ascending urinary tract bacterial infection. The diagnosis is suggested by clinical and laboratory findings. Diagnostic imaging should be performed in case of a complicated APN. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is a valid diagnostic tool for evaluating APN and performing a follow-up. This review aims to summarize the main evidence on the use of ultrasound and CEUS in the diagnosis of APN and its follow-up.