The Case of Pyelonephritis and Renal Cyst Infection Diagnosed by Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWMRI) is widely used for the diagnosis of cerebrovascular diseases. However, it is recently gaining attention for the diagnosis of infection and tumor in the abdominal region. We experienced a case of an 80-year-old woman whose diagnosis was difficult to differentiate between pyelonephritis and cholangitis. DWMRI showed high signal intensity in renal parenchyma and renal cyst, which led to the diagnosis of pyelonephritis and renal cyst infection. Radiation exposure and contrast media could be avoided for DWMRI. DWMRI is a safe and reliable modality in diagnosing pyelonephritis and renal cyst infection. World J Nephrol Urol. 2014;3(2):106-109 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14740/wjnu170e