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Renal abscess in children. A rare but important radiological diagnosis
Insights
Renal abscess in children can mimic tumors, necessitating early diagnosis. Prompt identification via clinical and radiological findings, particularly intravenous urography, guides appropriate treatment and avoids invasive procedures.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nephrology
- Diagnostic Radiology
Background:
- Renal abscess is an infrequent but critical condition in children.
- It can present with symptoms mimicking a tumoral syndrome, complicating diagnosis.
Observation:
- This study reports four pediatric cases where renal abscess was diagnosed.
- Diagnosis relied on correlating clinical signs of suppuration with radiological findings.
Findings:
- Intravenous urography is crucial for early diagnosis, revealing a tumoral radiological pattern.
- Clinical signs include high fever, elevated white blood cell count, and urinary tract infection.
- Rapid regression of symptoms post-treatment confirmed the renal abscess diagnosis.
Implications:
- Early and accurate diagnosis of renal abscess avoids unnecessary investigations like arteriography and surgical intervention.
- Distinguishing renal abscess from tumoral syndromes ensures timely and appropriate management in pediatric patients.
Abstract:
As in adults, renal abscess in children mimicks a tumoral syndrome. Renal abscess, although infrequent, should however be kept in mind because it is important to make an early diagnosis. The reason is simply that the treatment fo the two conditions is so different. Furthermore, an early accurate diagnosis avoids unnecessary investigations, such as arteriography, as well as unnecessary surgery. Four cases are reported in which the diagnosis of abscess was obtained by correlating both clinical and radiological findings. In only one case was arteriography performed and this was after treatment and it was normal. For an early diagnosis intravenous urography is of paramount importance. It shows a tumoral radiological pattern; in the context of clinical signs of suppuration (high fever, high leucocyte count and variably a urinary tract infection). The radiological findings suggest the diagnosis of abscess. On treatment the rapid regression and disappearance of the various clinical, laboratory, and radiological findings confirms the diagnosis of renal abscess.