Feasibility of non-contrast enhanced magnetic resonance angiography for diagnosis of renal artery stenosis in elderly patients

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of IFIR-FIESTA technique in detecting renal artery stenosis in elderly patients.

Methods: Twenty-seven aged patients underwent both IFIR-FIESTA and 3D CE-MRA examinations. The imaging quality and renal artery stenosis grades were evaluated. Kappa test was used to assess the consistency between the two methods. With CE-MRA as the reference, the diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, PPV and NPV for IFIR-FIESTA were calculated in detecting renal artery stenosis.

Results: The images by the two methods were 100% qualified for diagnosis, although the image quality of CE-MRA was significantly better. IFIR-FIESTA and CE-MRA showed excellent consistency in detecting renal artery stenosis. With CE-MRA as the reference, the diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, PPV and NPV for IFIR-FIESTA were 97.1%, 100%, 98.1%, 100%, and 95% in detecting renal artery stenosis, respectively.

Conclusions: IFIR-FIESTA is feasible as a routine examination for detecting renal artery stenosis in elderly patients.