Rare causes of hematuria associated with various vascular diseases involving the upper urinary tract

Abstract

Hematuria is a commonly encountered symptom of a wide spectrum of diseases, including calculi, tumors, and vascular abnormalities. In rare cases, hematuria is caused by life-threatening vascular diseases. When hematuria is encountered, physicians sometimes fail to include vascular diseases in the differential diagnosis because of their rare association with hematuria. Likewise, radiologists often fail to do so because of the low frequency of occurrence of these diseases. Multidetector computed tomography performed with the bolus injection technique should be the first-line diagnostic test when vascular disease is suspected. Radiologists should be familiar with the various imaging findings of hematuria caused by vascular disease. They should also be familiar with the management options (including endovascular techniques) for hematuria caused by vascular disease, since in some cases affected patients can be treated with interventional procedures.