A radiological study of urinary tract disease in Port Moresby 1972-74

During a 21/2 year period at Port Moresby, 852 patients had intravenous pyelograms. Two thirds of the patients were males and over half were Papua New Guineans. 34% of the patients had detectable urinary tract abnormalities of whom 38% had urinary calculi. Renal and ureteric calculi were particularly common in expatriate males, being found twice as commonly as in Papua New Guinean males. Although there were some Papua New Guinean male children with bladder calculi, the frequency appeared less than that found in some other developing countries. Other common findings included congenital urinary tract abnormalities, prostatomegaly and poor renal function. There were a few patients with malignant neoplasms including Wilms' tumours and carcinoma of the kidney.