Voiding urosonography including urethrosonography: high-quality examinations with an optimised procedure using a...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Radiology
• Diagnostic Imaging
• Urology

Background:

• Voiding urosonography (VUS) is a standard diagnostic tool for identifying vesicoureteral reflux in pediatric patients.
• Optimizing imaging quality in VUS is crucial for accurate diagnosis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the image quality of the entire urinary tract using a novel second-generation ultrasound contrast agent and an adapted VUS methodology.
• To compare the efficacy of a new contrast agent with a previously used one.

Main Methods:

• Evaluated 307 VUS examinations in 295 children using SonoVue® contrast agent.
• Assessed bladder image quality based on contrast material incorporation, homogeneous filling, and posterior bladder wall visualization.
• Compared findings with Levovist® in 58 children.

Main Results:

• The modified VUS technique achieved excellent image quality, meeting all three assessment criteria in over 99% of examinations.
• Moderate concordance was observed for bladder findings between the two contrast agents (Cohen K = 0.487).
• Perfect concordance was noted for male urethral findings.

Conclusions:

• A modified VUS technique utilizing a second-generation contrast agent yields high-quality bladder images.
• This approach enhances the diagnostic capability of VUS for pediatric urinary tract evaluations.