BACKGROUNDSome individuals have multiple renal arteries. Severe stenosis in one of the arteries may cause refractory hypertension. The detection of stenosis within one of the multiple renal arteries usually required invasive procedures, such as computed tomographic angiography (CTA) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). This study reported the application of color Doppler sonography (CDS) in the detection of severe stenosis in one of the multiple arteries.

METHODSPatients with multiple renal arteries and one of the arteries with severe stenosis were retrospectively studied. Peak systolic velocities (PSV) of renal arteries and the intrarenal CDS patterns were collected and compared. The diagnosis was confirmed by digital subtraction angiography (DSA).

RESULTSFour children with multiple renal arteries and one of the arteries with stenosis were investigated. They were admitted due to refractory hypertension. CDS screening identified two renal arteries in one kidney of each patient with one of the two renal arteries having stenosis > 70%. The PSV of the stenosed arteries were much higher, and the intrarenal CDS patterns supplied by the stenosed arteries changed into T-P patterns.

CONCLUSIONNon-invasive CDS technology may be a useful method to identify severe stenosis in one of multiple renal arteries in young patients.