Ultrasound images of Acquired cystic disease

This condition tends to affect patients on long-term dialysis who may already have shrunken, end-stage kidneys. Its frequency increases with the duration of dialysis. Multiple cysts form in the kidneys, which may, like adult PCKD, haemorrhage or become infected. The disease tends to be more severe the longer the patient has been on dialysis. The proliferative changes which cause acquired cystic disease also give rise to small adenomata and the ultrasound appearances may be a combination of cysts and solid, hypoechoic nodules. In particular, acquired cystic disease has the potential for malignancy and it is therefore prudent to screen native kidneys, even after renal transplantation has been performed (Fig. 7.7).