A Cross-Sectional Study on the Use of Computed Tomography Scan for Diagnosing Renal Masses in Pakistani Adults

Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the validity of Computed Tomography (CT) in evaluating solid renal masses by comparing CT findings with histopathological results. Methodology: This cross-sectional study involved 210 patients at the Department of Radiology PESSI Hospital Islamabad, spanning July 2022 to June 2023. Patients were selected based on predefined inclusion criteria, and their detailed medical histories were examined. Each patient underwent both non-contrast and contrast CT scans, and the radiological diagnoses were confirmed. The CT-based diagnoses were then compared with histopathological results, and measures such as positive predictive value (PPV), accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value (NPV) of CT in diagnosing renal masses were calculated. Results: The mean age of the study participants was 48.00±810 years. Male to female ratio was 2:1. The majority of the study participants were belonging from the urban area and were under graduate. The results of the study further revealed the frequency of renal masses which was more in male (71.90%, n=151) as compared to female (28.09%, n=59). The study found that the right kidney was affected in 58.09% (n=122) of cases, the left kidney in 36.19% (n=76), and both kidneys in 5.71% (n=12). In our study, we observed variations in density among patients, with 39.06% exhibiting mixed density, followed by 23.80% with hypo-dense, 20.95% with hyper-dense, and 16.19% with iso-dense lesions. When it comes to enhancement, we found that 40.01% had a moderate degree, 24.76% had mild enhancement, 21.90% had intense enhancement, and 13.33% showed no enhancement. Conclusion: In this study, we found a strong correlation between histopathological diagnosis and computed tomography (CT) in identifying solid renal masses, with notably high validity test results. Given these robust validity parameters, we can confidently conclude that CT scans serve as an effective and reliable diagnostic modality for identifying and diagnosing renal masses.