A preliminary investigation of the role of dynamic computed tomography in renovascular hypertension.

This preliminary report describes the application of dynamic computed tomography (CT) to the study of the kidney. The study is a simple, rapid, noninterventional test that gives time--density perfusion curves for the renal cortices as compared with aortic perfusion. In normal subjects, renal cortical time--density curves almost parallel the aortic time--density curve. In theory, decreases in perfusion in the kidney should show a renal cortical perfusion curve that is flattened and no longer parallel to the aortic curve. An experimental model for renal infarction was developed in the dog. Time--density curves taken from the infarcted area do show a depressed renal perfusion curve, with a lower peak than the curve for the contralateral kidney. Dynamic CT may be useful in screening human subjects for possible renovascular hypertension.