Lv SP, Qin LL, Mou H, Huang T, Wang KQ. Multimodal imaging techniques for the diagnosis of congenital left renal arteriovenous fistula: A case report. World J Clin Cases 2025; 13(21): 104062 [DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v13.i21.104062]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Kai-Quan Wang, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Ultrasound Imaging II, The Central Hospital of Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Wuyang Avenue, Enshi 445000, Hubei Province, China. wangkaiquan2024@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Article-Type of This Article
Case Report
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which 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: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Cases. Jul 26, 2025; 13(21): 104062 Published online Jul 26, 2025. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v13.i21.104062
Multimodal imaging techniques for the diagnosis of congenital left renal arteriovenous fistula: A case report
Shui-Ping Lv, Li-Li Qin, Huan Mou, Teng Huang, Kai-Quan Wang
Shui-Ping Lv, Li-Li Qin, Huan Mou, Teng Huang, Kai-Quan Wang, Department of Ultrasound Imaging II, The Central Hospital of Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Enshi 445000, Hubei Province, China
Author contributions: Lv SP contributed to writing, review and editing; Lv SP and Wang KQ contributed to conceptualization and supervision; Lv SP, Qin LL, and Mou H contributed to data collection; Qin LL and Huang T contributed to data investigation; and all the authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient to publish this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
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 NonCommercial (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: Kai-Quan Wang, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Ultrasound Imaging II, The Central Hospital of Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Wuyang Avenue, Enshi 445000, Hubei Province, China. wangkaiquan2024@163.com
Received: December 16, 2024 Revised: March 4, 2025 Accepted: April 3, 2025 Published online: July 26, 2025 Processing time: 134 Days and 17.4 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Congenital renal arteriovenous fistula (RAVF) is a clinically rare condition and frequently missed and misdiagnosed. Multimodal imaging techniques can provide more detailed diagnostic information to help physicians more accurately diagnose and treat diseases. Combining imaging methods to diagnose RAVF has rarely been reported.
CASE SUMMARY
A 69-year-old female patient presented with gross hematuria that had persisted for 10 days. The patient underwent ultrasound examinations of the kidneys and renal blood vessels, enhanced computed tomography, three-dimensional computed tomography angiography, and digital subtraction angiography of the renal arteries. These revealed dilatation of the left renal vein and abnormal shunting between the left renal artery and vein. The patient was diagnosed with a left RAVF using combined multimodal imaging techniques. The patient was treated with left renal artery embolization immediately after renal arteriography. Hematuria resolved following the left renal artery embolization without serious bleeding or other complications. The patient made a full recovery after one year of postoperative follow-up.
CONCLUSION
Multimodal imaging techniques complement each other when diagnosing RAVF, providing detailed diagnostic information that can aid in accurate diagnosis and treatment. In addition, this case reminds the sonographer to pay more attention to the color doppler flow imaging and blood flow spectrum when examining the kidney, so as to avoid misdiagnosis of renal cystic lesions as renal cysts and missed diagnosis of RAVF.
Core Tip: Congenital renal arteriovenous fistula (RAVF) is a clinically rare disease that is often missed and misdiagnosed. We report the case of a patient with congenital left RAVF diagnosed through combined multimodal imaging techniques, including ultrasound, enhanced computed tomography, three-dimensional computed tomography angiography, and digital subtraction angiography of the renal arteries. The imaging techniques provide complementary, detailed diagnostic information and play a critical role in improving our understanding of RAVFs, providing a reliable basis for clinical treatment.
