Renal sonography in pediatric patients. A comparative study between sonography and urography

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Radiology
• Diagnostic Imaging
• Nephrology

Background:

• Renal sonography and excretory urography are key imaging modalities in pediatric nephrology.
• Accurate diagnosis of congenital urinary tract malformations and renal diseases in children is crucial for timely intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the diagnostic accuracy of renal sonography with excretory urography in a pediatric population.
• To evaluate the combined utility of sonography and urography for diagnosing renal pathologies and malformations.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective comparison of renal sonograms and excretory urograms from 260 children.
• Individual kidney evaluation, resulting in 520 paired sonographic and urographic findings.
• Analysis focused on single investigations, excluding serial studies.

Main Results:

• Sonography demonstrated high accuracy, with only 10 normal kidneys misclassified as pathological.
• Urography showed discrepancies in diagnosing certain conditions, including pyelonephritis and structural anomalies.
• Sonography provided critical complementary information for nonfunctioning kidneys and improved the diagnosis of various renal diseases.

Conclusions:

• Systematic application of renal sonography enhances early diagnosis of urinary tract malformations in children.
• Renal sonography supports a more focused and efficient use of excretory urography.
• Combining sonography and excretory urography improves the overall diagnostic yield for pediatric renal diseases.