Room Air a Safe Alternative to Dye Injection in Ureterography

Overview

The procedure began in the Thirties .Retrograde pyelography is an essential step in most endoscopic procedure. This procedure is used as an investigation, with different indication in the past and the present, to delineate the ureter and pelvicalyceal system either before or after the operation, for example to detect any complication as a perforation and the need for stent placement. The procedure has an alternative, less invasive, the IVP. Multiple articles explored the use of air in the puncture of PCNL and to identify the posterior calyx, but to our knowledge there is no articles addressed the idea of air injection in the ureter. The greatest fear is air embolism or non-visualization of the ureter. The availability and cost of contrast material may be a problem, most urologist face

Our aim is to explore the feasibility of using Room air as a contrast material and check the safety of this procedure. Materials and methods: A pilot study in Assiut university hospital Urology department to evaluate the efficacy of air injection as a replacement dye injection in cases of endoscopy either in emergency or elective situation. Twenty patients were selected randomly, to evaluate the impact of retrograde pyelography (RPG) using air in cases of obstructed ureters and raised renal function.

Conditions