The role of magnetic resonance imaging in refining the diagnosis of suspected fetal renal anomalies

Objective: This prospective study was designed to detect the role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in refining the diagnosis of suspected fetal renal anomalies detected during screening sonography. Material and Methods: 54 pregnant women, with suspected fetal renal anomalies detected during routine ultrasound screening, were rescanned by MRI to refine the diagnosis of the suspected renal anomalies. The pregnancy outcome was examined externally and by postnatal ultrasonography. Results: Fifty-four cases of suspected renal anomalies detected during screening sonography of 8400 pregnant women (0.6%), were rescanned by MRI in this study. The MRI gave a similar diagnosis to postnatal ultrasound in 46 cases (16 cases of hydronephrosis, 14 cases of Polycystic Kidney Disease (PCKD), 9 cases of Multicystic Kidney Disease (MCKD), 2 cases of Renal Agensis (RA), 3 cases of single renal cyst and 2 cases of megacystis+hydroureter), while it gave a different diagnosis (false positive) in 6 cases (4 cases of hydronephrosis diagnosed by MRI confirmed to be PCKD by postnatal ultrasound, also, 1 case of MCKD diagnosed by MRI confirmed to be hydronephrosis by postnatal ultrasound and 1 case of RA diagnosed by MRI confirmed to be normal by postnatal ultrasound). The prenatal ultrasound gave a similar diagnosis to postnatal ultrasound in 43 cases (14 cases of hydronephrosis, 13 case of PCKD, 9 cases of MCKD, 2 cases of RA, 3 cases of single renal cyst and 2 case of megacystis+hydroureter), while it gave a different diagnosis (false positive) in 9 cases; 4 cases of hydronephrosis diagnosed by prenatal sonography confirmed to be PCKD by postnatal ultrasound, one case of PCKD+one case of MCKD, and one case of megacystis+hydroureter confirmed to be hydronephrosis by postnatal ultrasound, while one case of MCKD diagnosed by prenatal sonography was confirmed to be PCKD by postnatal ultrasound and one case of RA diagnosed by prenatal ultrasound was confirmed to be normal by postnatal ultrasound. Conclusion: The MRI can be used as a complementary adjunctive modality with excellent tissue contrast, especially in equivocal cases or inconclusive sonographic findings.