Reflux of urine is one of the more common reasons that children are referred to a pediatric urologist. Reflux simply means that urine goes backwards in the ureter during urination.
The ureter is the tube that connects the kidney to the bladder.
Urine is supposed to go in one direction: from the kidneys to the bladder. When urine goes up from the bladder to the kidney, it can result in health problems for the child.
Reflux may have been discovered in your child in one of two common ways.
First, the kidney is sometimes seen to be dilated, or "ballooned," on a prenatal sonogram (ultrasound). At the time of birth, testing may have revealed that this ballooning was due to reflux of urine.
The other common symptom of reflux is an unexpected urinary tract infection. Evaluation with x-rays after urinary infection may reveal reflux as an underlying cause or associated problem.
Sometimes, a child is screened for reflux because a brother of sister has the problem. Reflux is often discovered in this way and many doctors feel that all brothers or sisters of children with reflux should have at least some screening test performed.
Reflux is diagnosed using an x-ray called a voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG), or a nuclear cystogram.
Both tests involve a urinary catheter (tube) placed into the child's bladder to fill the bladder with x-ray dye or radioactive material. The dye is then observed during urination and, if it is seen going up toward the kidneys, the diagnosis is made.
Although this can be an uncomfortable test for your child, the severity of problems that occur with reflux makes the procedure very worthwhile.
Your doctor will be concerned about diagnosis of reflux because reflux can lead to kidney damage. Refluxing urine can carry bacteria to the kidney, where it can establish a kidney infection.
Children with reflux of urine are more likely to have kidney infections than children who do not have reflux. The combination of reflux and infection can lead to areas of permanent kidney damage or "renal scarring."
This scarring was detected in the past by doing an x-ray called an intravenous pyelogram (IVP), but now more commonly evaluated with a renal scan. If it is extensive enough, the scarring can lead to loss of function of one or both kidneys. Fortunately, this d egree of scarring is relatively rare.
The tendency for reflux to cure itself is the basis for current treatment. One of the clues that your doctor will use to determine if the reflux is likely to go away on its own is the "grade" of the reflux. This refers to how the reflux looks in the x-rays: t he more severe the reflux, the higher the grade, with scores from 1-to -5. The higher the grade, the less likely that the reflux will go away. Also, reflux that occurs into both kidneys appears to be less likely to go away than reflux occurring on only one side. Despite these guideli nes, it is almost impossible to predict with certainty for the individual patient whether reflux will go away (except in cases of grade 5 reflux, which rarely resolves beyond infancy).
For most children, prophylactic antibiotics are given on a daily basis. As long as there are no urinary infections, a VCUG or nuclear cystogram is obtained yearly to see if the reflux is still present. Most of the time, four or five years will be allowed for the reflux to go away before surgery is suggested. In many cases, the doctor might wait significantly longer. There are reasons however, that surgery might be performed earlier. The most common reason is "breakthrough" infection: an infection that occurs while taking prophylactic ant ibiotics. Other reasons might include high-grade reflux, antibiotic allergy, and patient and physician choice.
Surgery for reflux is highly successful and carries relatively little risk. The operation is usually done through a "bikini" incision. The bladder is opened and the ureters are freed from the inside of the bladder. They are then tunneled under the bladder lin ing, so that the ureter acts as its own flap valve. This is how the ureter is supposed to work. Alternatively, the ureters are tunneled in the bladder wall from outside the bladder. Usually children are in the hospital for one to two days. The success of these operations in routine c ases is more than 95 percent and complications are rare. There are new operations being developed to try to correct reflux using "minimally invasive" techniques, and we have been involved with some of these.
It is important in children with reflux to prevent kidney infections. This is achieved in three ways:
For patient referral or consultations, contact the Department of Pediatric Urology at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh at 412-692-4100.
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