[Evaluation of the role of echography in the positive diagnosis of renal colic secondary to kidney stone].

To evaluate sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound in detecting urinary calculus in renal colic, a prospective study of 31 patients examined by both ultrasound and intravenous urography (IVU) was undertaken. Of the 27 cases of renal colic proved by IVU and/or recovery of a calculus, ultrasound correctly diagnosed urinary calculus in 26 cases with a sensitivity of 96.3%. In the 4 cases in which the sonographic examination demonstrated neither calculi nor unilateral obstruction, further evaluation confirmed the absence of calculi. Specificity of ultrasound was 100%. The results of this study support the use of ultrasound in detecting renal calculus and point out the important place of ultrasound in initial evaluation of renal colic.