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Diagnostic and Treatment Patterns for Renal Colic in US Emergency Departments

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Abstract

Purpose: To describe the epidemiology, imaging and treatment patterns of acute renal colic in US emergency departments. Materials and methods: Data on 25,622 visits representing 108 million emergency department visits were obtained from the 2000 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Demographic and clinical information are presented descriptively. Results: There were a total of 259 records representing 1,139,257 visits with a primary ED diagnosis of renal calculus or colic. The majority of patients are young males, presenting with moderate to severe flank pain. Patients received an average of two medications from a pharmacopoeia of several dozen. The most commonly used medications were ketorolac, promthiazine and morphine. Antibiotics were prescribed in over 20% of cases. Just under half of all patients had a radiographic test, and a similar number had one or more blood tests. Fewer than 10% were admitted. Conclusions: Renal colic is a common emergency department presentation and but there is widespread variation in the type of ancillary testing obtained. Patients may not obtain those radiological tests required to ensure prompt urological follow-up. Further work should be aimed at developing protocols for the emergent management of patients with renal colic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Emergency Medicine, George Washington University, 2150 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Suite 2B-417, Washington, DC, 20037, USA

    Jeremy Brown

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  1. Jeremy Brown
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Correspondence to Jeremy Brown.

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Brown, J. Diagnostic and Treatment Patterns for Renal Colic in US Emergency Departments. Int Urol Nephrol 38, 87–92 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11255-005-3622-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11255-005-3622-6

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