Methods: Seventy-eight patients (53 males, 25 females; mean age 60.8±14.9 years; range 18 to 86 years) who suffered from hypertension and were found to have RAS on MDCTA or who were found suitable for endovascular treatment of an abdominal aortic aneurysm during the evaluation with MDCTA underwent digital subtraction angiographic (DSA) examinations. The MDCTA findings were compared with the DSA findings. Statistical analysis of data was performed to detect renal arterial stenosis and the degree of stenosis based on diameter measurement. The study was carried out prospectively and approved by the hospital institutional review board. Informed consent was obtained from all patients.

Results: Seventy-nine of 156 renal arteries were found to have stenosis and six were found to have occlusion while 71 were normal on MDCTA. Seventy of 156 renal arteries were found to have stenosis and six to have occlusion while 80 were normal on DSA. Overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy rate were found to be 97.4%, 86.3%, 87.1%, 97.2% and 91.7%, respectively. For determination of the degree of stenosis, the sensitivity was in the range of 74.1-100%, the specificity was in the range of 93.7-100%, the PPV was in the range of 55-100%, the NPV was in the range of 94.5-100%, and the accuracy rate was in the range of 90.4-100%.

Conclusion: Multidetector computed tomography angiography can be accepted as a noninvasive and reliable modality for the evaluation of RAS with high sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy rates.