Can A Cat Scan Miss A Solid Mass That Was Seen By Sonogram?
A solid mass was seen on a sonogram and discussed with me by the sonographer, radiologist, pcp, and nephrologist. The cat scan showed nothing! The amount of contrast had to be reduced due to her GFR. Could this effect the scan? She has microscopic blood in her urine every time we see her Dr.
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Diagnostic tools such as CT, PET, ultrasound, MRI, are not perfect or they can be misinterpreted. So, the answer, is unfortunately . .yes a CT can miss a solid mass . . the mass can sometimes be positioned or hidden behind structures in the body, or misread . . you might consider requesting a second CT in a few weeks or months in order for the scans to be compared and see if there is any difference.
Athough you didn’t say…I’m guessing the mass was seen on a kidney, since you mentioned GFR and Nephrologist. In that case, ultrasound can detect subtle deferences in texture, there are some benign things that can mimic a mass in a kidney. Among then are: Column of Bertin ( an extension of the renal cortex in between the renal pyramids) , a duplex kidney ( one that is sort of like two kidneys that didn’t actually divide), Angiomyolipoma ( a fatty mass) and even an irregular contour can appear mass like.
Sounds like it’s just something to be watched, maybe rescanned with both modalities.The good news is that it was not an obviously suspicious mass on the CT!
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