Ultrasonography versus excretory urography: value in urological disease.

Considerable savings in cost and some reduction in gonad dose and contrast medium allergy can be expected if excretory urography can be replaced by real-time ultrasonography as the first examination in upper urinary tract disease. For one year, all patients referred for excretory urography (UG) are first examined with real-time ultrasonography (US) to establish whether UG can be completely replaced by US, or the indications for which US should be the first examination of choice. The results in 200 consecutive patients indicate that both methods sometimes fail, but not in the same patients. A combination of the two may be unbeatable, but uneconomical. The results obtained over one year may give the answer. Hopefully studies at other centres will be initiated to increase the size of the case material.