A middle-aged man came to the nephrology clinic after a recent hospitalization for acute pyelonephritis and an episode of AKI that briefly required dialysis. The working diagnosis was acute tubular injury from infection, compounded by NSAID exposure. A CT scan during admission had also shown mild left hydronephrosis and hydroureter.

A point-of-care ultrasound was done in clinic by a medical student who suspected persistent mild left hydroureter. Were they correct?

Below is a real example of mild hydronephrosis: notice how it stays dark and doesn’t show color flow.