Color Doppler energy: detection of hypoperfused areas in renal transplants

The aim of this study was to determine if an area of decreased color on color Doppler energy scans in a transplanted kidney could be related to significant pathologic conditions. Three hundred and ninety‐eight scans in 150 patients were thus evaluated prospectively, and 12 such areas were found and correlated to B‐mode, spectral, and color Doppler sonography as well as clinical and laboratory findings. A cause for the hypoperfused area was found in all cases; causes included two cases of focal infection, four arteriovenous fistulas, one kinking of an artery, and five perioperatively severed accessory arteries. We conclude that a color Doppler energy evaluation of perfusion differences can be used to detect pathologic lesions in a transplanted kidney.