Is CT scannning used too much? This patient of mine was still having vague pelvic pain 1 month after a lithotripsy for a ureter stone. She had 50 RBCs in the urine. Rather than send her for a CT scan and some unnecessary x-ray exposure, I performed a bladder sonogram in the office and found the stone, seen above, in the distal ureter. Both the patient and I had our answer by the time she left the office. The cost to the patient and her insurance was significantly less than had I ordered a CT scan and the patient avoided the radiation exposure of the CT scan. 3 days later she passed the stone spontaneously.
In this case, the sonogram answered the question with efficiency.
