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This study from four Australian centers examined whether low-dose, continuous oral antibiotic therapy would prevent urinary tract infection in children (under the age of 18 years) who had already had one or more microbiologically proven urinary tract infections. Long-term, low-dose trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole was associated with a modest decrease in the number of urinary tract infections in predisposed children. Long-term, low-dose trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole was associated with a modest decrease in the number of urinary tract infections in predisposed children. Urinary tract infection is a very common illness in children, affecting 2% of boys and 8% of girls by the age of 7 years. 1 Urinary tract infection is associated with long-term morbidity, with renal damage reported in about 5% of affected children. 2 The observation that urinary tract infection and vesicoureteral reflux are associated with renal damage 3 – 5 led to the standard clinical practice of assessment with voiding cystourethrography for the presence of vesicoureteral reflux in children who had had urinary tract infection 6 , 7 and the administration of daily low-dose antibiotics for many years 8 to prevent further urinary tract infections and . . .

Background and Objectives: Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) describes a common pediatric anomaly in pediatric urology with a prevalence of 1–2%. In diagnostics, in addition to the gold standard of voiding cystourethrography (VCUG), contrast-enhanced urosonography (ceVUS) offers a radiation-free procedure, which, despite its advantages, is not yet widely used. In the present single-center study, subsequent therapeutic procedures and outcomes after ceVUS of 49 patients were investigated. The aim of the study is to investigate the efficacy of ceVUS with the intention of broader clinical implementation. Materials and Methods: Between 2016 and 2020, 49 patients were retrospectively included and received a ceVUS to evaluate VUR. With a distribution of 47:2 (95.9%), a clear female predominance was present. The age of the patients varied between 5 months and 60 years at the time of ceVUS. All examinations were all performed and subsequently interpreted by a single experienced radiologist (EFSUMB level 3). Results: Compared to intraoperative findings, ceVUS shows a sensitivity of 95.7% with a specificity of 100%. Allergic reactions to the contrast medium could not be observed. Conclusion: With its high sensitivity and intraoperative validation, ceVUS offers an excellent alternative to VCUG, the gold standard in the diagnosis of VUR. In addition, ceVUS is a radiation-free examination method with a low risk profile that offers an exceptional diagnostic tool in the diagnostic clarification of recurrent urinary tract infections with the suspected diagnosis of VUR and should also be included in the consideration of a diagnosis next to the established VCUG, especially in younger children.

Background Due to the questionable clinical role of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) and the search for noninvasive, radiation-free procedures sufficiently reliable to detect VUR, we compared the correlation between the midline-to-orifice distance (MOD) measured by ultrasonography (US) and echo-enhanced voiding urosonography (VUS) for detecting VUR in children. The aim of the study was to determine whether measuring MOD by US could be a reliable predictor of VUR in children. Methods A total of 116 children, aged 0.25–84 months, with 232 potentially refluxing units were investigated simultaneously by measuring the MOD and performing VUS. Indications for cystography were urinary tract infection and follow-up of a previously detected VUR. VUS was performed after the MOD measurement. The results were analyzed with VUS as the reference method. Results The MOD was significantly larger in VUR grade III (10.7 mm; p  = 0.003) and VUR grade II (9.9 mm; p  = 0.001) refluxing units than in non-refluxing units (7.8 mm), even when controlling for the estimated volume/expected maximal capacity (Vest/Vmax) ratio. A MOD cutoff value of 7.4 mm was chosen as a predictor of either the presence or absence of VUR; the sensitivity and specificity of this cutoff measurement for VUR detection were found to be 89 and 24 %, respectively. Conclusions Despite the statistically significant difference between the MOD of refluxing versus non-refluxing units identified in our study, the MOD measurement needs further evaluation to determine its potential value as a diagnostic tool for the detection of VUR.

This study evaluates the accuracy of noninvasive renal ultrasound (US) in the detection of dilative vesicoureteric reflux (VUR) compared to voiding cysturethrography (VCUG), taking both sonographic morphology and kidney length into account. The data and images of 205 paediatric patients who had renal ultrasound and VCUG performed were reviewed. Abnormalities of renal length and kidney morphology were compared with degree of reflux on VCUG for each renal unit. A total of 407 renal units were evaluated. When the sonographic diagnosis of reflux was based solely on morphological criteria and degree of dilatation, correlation with VCUG results was poor. However, the fraction of kidneys of anomalous size increased markedly with grade of reflux, from 10% of non-refluxing renal units to 50% of renal units subjected to grade 4 and 5 VUR. Taking abnormal kidney length into account as well, dilative VUR was diagnosed by ultrasound with a sensitivity of 92% (95% CI 82%-100%) and a sensitivity of 67% (95% CI 63%-72%), P<0.001. the results of this study show that ultrasound cannot accurately diagnose vesicoureteric reflux by morphological changes alone, but requires the consideration of age-adjusted abnormalities in kidney length.

A number of bulking agents have been used for the endoscopic correction of vesicoureteral reflux in children. We present the long-term results of endoscopic use of dextranomer/hyaluronic acid copolymer (Deflux) for VUR grade I-IV in children. Between 2004 and 2008, 21 children underwent endoscopic subureteral injection of Deflux in 30 ureters as an outpatient procedure. Twelve children had a unilateral reflux (two duplicated systems) and nine had a bilateral reflux. The median age was 5 years (6 months to 14.9 years). Six weeks postoperatively a voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG) was performed. This study examined the disappearance of VUR and urinary tract infection (UTI) as well as the quality of life (parents' questionnaire) during long-term follow-up. No intra- and postoperative complications were noticed. In 25 ureters (83%) VCUG showed no VUR 6 weeks postoperatively. In three children a second injection was done (two were successful). After a median follow-up of 2.5 years 27 ureters in 17 children (90%) had no UTI and VUR. The results of the questionnaire regarding quality of life were very good in the successfully treated children and the parents would choose the same treatment option again. Subureteral injection of Deflux for children with VUR is an effective treatment option for VUR with a low complication rate.

Endoscopic subureteral collagen injection (SCIN) was performed in 24 girls and 5 boys (mean/range: 3.2/0.7-12.2 years) with primary grade III vesicoureteral reflux. Clinical outcome was compared to 20 girls and 6 boys treated by antireflux surgery (mean/range: 3.0/0.2-9.4 years). forty-one ureters were treated by endoscopy, 37 by surgery. Patients were followed for 12 months. SCIN was not associated with severe persistent complications. No reflux was detected immediately after SCIN. After 6 months recurrent grade II reflux was present in 1 (4%) surgically treated patient and in 12/29 (41%) patients treated by collagen injection. This corresponded to a recurrence rate of 1/37 (3%) of ureters following surgery and 15/41 (37%) following SCIN. 8/15 refluxing ureters after collagen showed decreased reflux grade (two grade I, six grade II). After 12 months 24/26 (92%) patients with antireflux surgery remained free of urinary tract infections as compared to 25/29 (86%) children following endoscopy. Following SCIN, 4/29 (14%) patients required secondary antireflux surgery because of recurrent urinary tract infections. On the basis of this study endoscopic SCIN appears to be safe in children. It is less effective than surgery with regard to elimination of primary grade II reflux. However, clinical success rate is comparable to surgery with regard to the frequency of recurrent urinary tract infections after the procedure. This may be due to the reduction of refluxing urine volume in those patients who showed recurrence of reflux after collagen injection.

Renal coloboma syndrome (RCS) and dominant optic atrophy are mainly caused by heterozygous mutations in PAX2 and OPA1 , respectively. We describe a patient with digenic mutations in PAX2 and OPA1 . A female infant was born without perinatal abnormalities. Magnetic resonance imaging at 4 months of age showed bilateral microphthalmia and optic nerve hypoplasia. Appropriate body size was present at 2 years of age, and mental development was favorable. Color fundus photography revealed severe retinal atrophy in both eyes. Electroretinography showed slight responses in the right eye, but no responses in the left eye, suggesting a high risk of blindness. Urinalysis results were normal, creatinine-based estimated glomerular filtration rate was 63.5 mL/min/1.73 m 2 , and ultrasonography showed bilateral hypoplastic kidneys. Whole exome sequencing revealed de novo frameshift mutations in PAX2 and OPA1 . Both variants were classified as pathogenic (PVS1, PS2, PM2) based on the guidelines from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG). Genetic testing for ocular diseases should be considered for patients with suspected RCS and a high risk of total blindness.

Background We aimed to develop a tool for predicting HNF1B mutations in children with congenital abnormalities of the kidneys and urinary tract (CAKUT). Methods The clinical and laboratory data from 234 children and young adults with known HNF1B mutation status were collected and analyzed retrospectively. All subjects were randomly divided into a training (70%) and a validation set (30%). A random forest model was constructed to predict HNF1B mutations. The recursive feature elimination algorithm was used for feature selection for the model, and receiver operating characteristic curve statistics was used to verify its predictive effect. Results A total of 213 patients were analyzed, including HNF1B -positive (mut + , n  = 109) and HNF1B -negative (mut − , n  = 104) subjects. The majority of patients had mild chronic kidney disease. Kidney phenotype was similar between groups, but bilateral kidney anomalies were more frequent in the mut + group. Hypomagnesemia and hypermagnesuria were the most common abnormalities in mut + patients and were highly selective of HNF1B . Hypomagnesemia based on age-appropriate norms had a better discriminatory value than the age-independent cutoff of 0.7 mmol/l. Pancreatic anomalies were almost exclusively found in mut + patients. No subjects had hypokalemia; the mean serum potassium level was lower in the HNF1B cohort. The abovementioned, discriminative parameters were selected for the model, which showed a good performance (area under the curve: 0.85; sensitivity of 93.67%, specificity of 73.57%). A corresponding calculator was developed for use and validation. Conclusions This study developed a simple tool for predicting HNF1B mutations in children and young adults with CAKUT. Graphical abstract A higher resolution version of the Graphical abstract is available as Supplementary information

Background Renal damage in closed spinal dysraphism (CSD), primarily linked to neurogenic bladder dysfunction, significantly impacts long-term patient outcomes by increasing the risk of chronic kidney disease. Identifying patients at highest risk for renal damage is essential for implementing early interventions, improving bladder management strategies, and preserving renal function. This study aims to develop an effective machine learning model to predict renal damage in children with CSD. Methods This retrospective study included 110 children with CSD. We developed four machine learning models (logistic regression, support vector machine, decision tree, and extreme gradient boosting [XGBoost]), and compared their predictive performances. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), calibration curve, and decision curve analysis were used to evaluate predictive performance. The Shapley additive explanations (SHAP) algorithm and Local Interpretable Model-Agnostic Explanations (LIME) were used to interpret the optimal model. Results The XGBoost model showed the best predictive performance (AUC = 0.957) among the four machine learning models. Through the SHAP analysis, abnormal radiological lower urinary tract findings, female sex, and high-grade vesicoureteral reflux were identified as the three most influential features in predicting renal damage. Conclusion Our study effectively developed a model that accurately predicted renal damage in children with CSD based on the XGBoost algorithm, demonstrating its potential to achieve good predictive performance.

The strategy for the management of children with urinary tract anomalies has changed considerably as a result of the development of ultrasound equipment and techniques that allow for detailed fetal evaluation. Hydronephrosis is the most common urogenital anomaly detected, suggesting that an obstructive process may be potentially present. The goal of postnatal management is to identify and treat those patients whose renal function is at risk, while leaving alone the high percentage of patients who are at no risk of renal damage. This management involves a spectrum of radiological, medical, and surgical interventions for diagnosis, surveillance, and treatment. In this article, we review our current understanding of the natural history of antenatal hydronephrosis and its management.