Imaging of renal colic

Renal colic indicates a type of abdominal pain due to urinary tract obstruction, commonly caused by urinary stones. The classic presentation of renal colic is the sudden onset of severe loin pain, but depending on the site of obstruction, the pain will radiate to the flank, groin, and testes or labia majora. Unfortunately, symptoms due to many other abdominal diseases could be indistinguishable from renal colic, and therefore emergency imaging in patients with suspected renal colic is necessary to rule out other clinical conditions, either renal diseases or gynecologic, gastrointestinal, pancreatic, hepatobiliary, vascular, and musculoskeletal conditions. In this setting, imaging is required to allow rapid diagnosis, to guide patient management, and to evaluate active treatment complications.