Volume 189 - Issue 4
Bilateral renal halo sign in acute pancreatitis
Authors: Ganesh Athappan, Venkatesh K Ariyamuthu and Virusankulam K Rajamani
Med J Aust 2008; 189 (4): 228. || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2008.tb01991.x
Published online: 18 August 2008
Published online: 18 August 2008
A 29-year-old man with a history of alcohol misuse presented with acute abdominal pain, vomiting, and a tense and tender abdomen. Serum amylase and lipase levels were elevated, and acute pancreatitis was diagnosed. Computed tomography revealed a bilateral renal halo sign (Figure) and oedema of the pancreas with multiple fluid collections. The halo appears as ground-glass attenuation on imaging, due to enhancement of the perirenal fat from the retroperitoneal collection of pancreatic exudates.1 Bilateral perirenal fluid collections are rare2 and suggest pancreatitis.1
References
- Susman N, Hammerman AM, Cohen E. The renal halo sign in pancreatitis. Radiology 1982; 142: 323-327.
- Mortelé KJ, Mergo PJ, Taylor HM, et al. Renal and perirenal space involvement in acute pancreatitis: spiral CT findings. Abdom Imaging 2000; 25: 272-278. 0_i1091834