In adult inpatients with acute kidney injury (AKI), clinicians routinely order a renal ultrasonography (RUS) study. It is unclear how often this test provides clinically useful information. Methods: Cross-sectional study, including derivation and validation samples, of 997 US adults , who were diagnosed as having AKI and who underwent RUS to evaluate elevated creatinine level. Pregnant women, renal transplant recipients, and patients with recently diagnosed hydronephrosis (HN) were excluded.

more »

... ographic and clinical characteristics were abstracted from the medical records. A multivariable logistic regression model was developed to create risk strata for HN and HN requiring an intervention (HNRI); a separate sample was used for validation. The frequency of incidental findings on RUS was assessed for each stratum.