RETROPERITONEAL AND PELVIC CT OF PATIENTS WITH AIDS - PRIMARY AND SECONDARY INVOLVEMENT OF THE GENITOURINARY TRACT

Although genitourinary tract disorders are common in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), little attention has been paid to their manifestations on computed tomographic (CT) scans. The authors reviewed the CT scans of 86 patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus for CT manifestations of primary or secondary involvement of the genitourinary tract. Genitourinary tract abnormalities identified in the 86 patients included nephromegaly in 34 (40%), hilar adenopathy in 30 (35%), bladder wall thickening in 19 (22%), medullary hyperattenuation in 12 (14%), renal calcifications in seven (8%), adnexal masses in five (6%), hydronephrosis in four (5%), pyelonephritis in three (3%), renal absecesses in three (3%), and solid renal masses in three (3%). Although these abnormalities are seen on CT scans in many other diseases, in the AIDS patient they often indicate the presence of an AIDS-related renal disease or involvement of the genitourinary tract by an AIDS-related neoplasm or infection.