Research Article

EFFECTIVENESS OF BEDSİDE EMERGENCY ULTRASONOGRAPHY IN PATIENTS WITH RENAL COLIC PRESENTING TO THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT

Volume: 16 Number: 3 September 25, 2026
EN TR

EFFECTIVENESS OF BEDSİDE EMERGENCY ULTRASONOGRAPHY IN PATIENTS WITH RENAL COLIC PRESENTING TO THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) for detecting and grading hydronephrosis in patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with suspected renal colic, using non-contrast computed tomography (CT) as the reference standard. Material and Methods: This prospective observational diagnostic accuracy study included 106 adult patients who underwent both renal POCUS and non-contrast CT during the same ED visit. Hydronephrosis was classified as none, mild, moderate, or severe. The diagnostic performance of POCUS was assessed for detecting any hydronephrosis (grade ≥2) and moderate-to-severe hydronephrosis (grade ≥3). Agreement between POCUS and CT grading was evaluated using kappa coefficients.
Results: CT demonstrated hydronephrosis in 58 patients (54.7%). For any hydronephrosis, POCUS showed a sensitivity of 86.2%, specificity of 83.3%, and overall accuracy of 84.9% (κ=0.695; p<0.001). Exact agreement across the four grades was 62.3%, while within-one-grade agreement was 98.1%. Linear-weighted and quadratic-weighted κ values were 0.626 and 0.777, respectively. POCUS assigned a higher grade than CT in 30 cases and a lower grade in 10 cases (p=0.001). For moderate-to-severe hydronephrosis, sensitivity was 88.9%, specificity was 82.3%, and negative predictive value was 95.6%.
Conclusion:  POCUS provides good diagnostic performance for the rapid, radiation-free assessment of hydronephrosis in renal colic. However, because it tends to overestimate hydronephrosis severity compared with CT, high-grade POCUS findings should not be considered directly equivalent to the corresponding CT grade.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

none

Project Number

yok

Ethical Statement

Ethical approval was obtained from the Yozgat Bozok University Non-Interventional Clinical Research Ethics Committee (approval no: 2017-KAEK-189_2019.01.09_05) before participant enrollment.

Thanks

none

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Emergency Medicine

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

September 25, 2026

Submission Date

August 14, 2026

Acceptance Date

September 21, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 16 Number: 3

APA
Gökçen, E., Kuşdoğan, M., Albayrak, L., & Kaya, H. B. (2026). EFFECTIVENESS OF BEDSİDE EMERGENCY ULTRASONOGRAPHY IN PATIENTS WITH RENAL COLIC PRESENTING TO THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT. Bozok Tıp Dergisi, 16(3), 581-590. https://doi.org/10.16919/bozoktip.2017747
AMA
1.Gökçen E, Kuşdoğan M, Albayrak L, Kaya HB. EFFECTIVENESS OF BEDSİDE EMERGENCY ULTRASONOGRAPHY IN PATIENTS WITH RENAL COLIC PRESENTING TO THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT. Bozok Tıp Dergisi. 2026;16(3):581-590. doi:10.16919/bozoktip.2017747
Chicago
Gökçen, Emre, Mikail Kuşdoğan, Levent Albayrak, and Hasan Burak Kaya. 2026. “EFFECTIVENESS OF BEDSİDE EMERGENCY ULTRASONOGRAPHY IN PATIENTS WITH RENAL COLIC PRESENTING TO THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT”. Bozok Tıp Dergisi 16 (3): 581-90. https://doi.org/10.16919/bozoktip.2017747.
EndNote
Gökçen E, Kuşdoğan M, Albayrak L, Kaya HB (September 1, 2026) EFFECTIVENESS OF BEDSİDE EMERGENCY ULTRASONOGRAPHY IN PATIENTS WITH RENAL COLIC PRESENTING TO THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT. Bozok Tıp Dergisi 16 3 581–590.
IEEE
[1]E. Gökçen, M. Kuşdoğan, L. Albayrak, and H. B. Kaya, “EFFECTIVENESS OF BEDSİDE EMERGENCY ULTRASONOGRAPHY IN PATIENTS WITH RENAL COLIC PRESENTING TO THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT”, Bozok Tıp Dergisi, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 581–590, Sept. 2026, doi: 10.16919/bozoktip.2017747.
ISNAD
Gökçen, Emre - Kuşdoğan, Mikail - Albayrak, Levent - Kaya, Hasan Burak. “EFFECTIVENESS OF BEDSİDE EMERGENCY ULTRASONOGRAPHY IN PATIENTS WITH RENAL COLIC PRESENTING TO THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT”. Bozok Tıp Dergisi 16/3 (September 1, 2026): 581-590. https://doi.org/10.16919/bozoktip.2017747.
JAMA
1.Gökçen E, Kuşdoğan M, Albayrak L, Kaya HB. EFFECTIVENESS OF BEDSİDE EMERGENCY ULTRASONOGRAPHY IN PATIENTS WITH RENAL COLIC PRESENTING TO THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT. Bozok Tıp Dergisi. 2026;16:581–590.
MLA
Gökçen, Emre, et al. “EFFECTIVENESS OF BEDSİDE EMERGENCY ULTRASONOGRAPHY IN PATIENTS WITH RENAL COLIC PRESENTING TO THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT”. Bozok Tıp Dergisi, vol. 16, no. 3, Sept. 2026, pp. 581-90, doi:10.16919/bozoktip.2017747.
Vancouver
1.Emre Gökçen, Mikail Kuşdoğan, Levent Albayrak, Hasan Burak Kaya. EFFECTIVENESS OF BEDSİDE EMERGENCY ULTRASONOGRAPHY IN PATIENTS WITH RENAL COLIC PRESENTING TO THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT. Bozok Tıp Dergisi. 2026 Sep. 1;16(3):581-90. doi:10.16919/bozoktip.2017747