Results of a five-year study of 99mTc DMSA renal scintigraphy in children and adolescents following acute pyelonephritis (original) (raw)

The Importance of 99 M-TC Dmsa Renal Scintigraphy in Evaluation of Renal Lesions in Children with Acute Pyelonephritis

Acta Medica …, 2008

Urinary tract infection (UTI) may lead to irreversible changes in renal parenchyma. Early diagnosis using scintigraphy with technetium-99 m-labeled dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) scan and early treatment may decrease or prevent development of renal parenchymal lesions. The aim of this study was to assess the occurrence of renal parenchymal lesion in children admitted with a first-time symptomatic UTI and to evaluate the relation between renal parenchymal damage and severity of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR). A total of 102 children with first time acute pyelonephritis (APN) were enrolled in the study. All children studied with DMSA scan and ultrasonography (US). Voiding cystourethrography (VCUG) was performed in 98 children when urine culture became negative. Changes on the DMSA scan and US were found in 178 (88%) and 5 (2.4%) out of 203 renal units during the acute phase, respectively. All abnormal renal units on US showed severe parenchymal involvement on DMSA. We also found significant correlation between severity of VUR and abnormal US results on kidneys. Of 40 kidneys with reflux, 38 (95%) were found to have abnormal renal scan. Among 155 kidneys with non-refluxing ureters 132 (85.2%) revealed parenchymal changes on renal cortical scintigraphy. Kidneys with moderate to severe reflux were more likely to have severe renal involvement. We found a high incidence of renal parenchymal changes in children with APN. Additionally, renal involvement was significantly higher in children with moderate to severe reflux. When there are high-grade VUR and female gender, the risk of renal parenchymal involvement is higher.

Diagnostic role of initial renal cortical scintigraphy in children with the first episode of acute pyelonephritis

Annals of Nuclear Medicine, 2011

Objective Assessment of the first febrile urinary tract infection (UTI) in children has been the subject of debate for many years. Diagnosis of acute pyelonephritis (APN) is usually based on clinical and biological data. The clinical usefulness of early Tc-99m DMSA scintigraphy remains controversial, although it may influence the type and duration of treatment. The aim of this study was to assess the role of initial cortical scintigraphy in the detection of early renal parenchymal damage in children highly suspected of having APN and to compare the scintigraphic findings with selected clinical/laboratory parameters and ultrasonography. Methods A prospective study was conducted in 34 infants and young children (18 boys, 16 girls), aged 1.5–36 months (mean 9.8 ± 8.7 months), hospitalized with a first episode of clinically suspected APN. Within the first 5 days after admission, Tc-99m DMSA renal scintigraphy, ultrasonography (US), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cell count (WBC) and urine analyses were performed. Results DMSA scintigraphy showed changes consistent with APN in 27/34 (79%) patients, with a mean age of 10.9 months, including 12 males (44%) and 15 (56%) females. Out of 9 febrile children with negative urine culture and supportive evidence of UTI, scintigraphy showed parenchymal involvement in 8 children (24% in the whole group, 30% in scintigraphically documented APN). There were no statistically significant correlations between the frequency or size of the initial scintigraphic abnormalities and age, sex, body temperature, CRP levels or ESR. A CRP level of >54 mg/L and a WBC of >13,300/mm3 had sensitivities of 56 and 59% and specificities of 86 and 71%, respectively. US showed changes consistent with APN in 7/34 (21%) in the whole group and in 7/27 (26%) patients with positive cortical scan (p < 0.05). Conclusion Initial DMSA renal scintigraphy is a sensitive method for the early diagnosis of APN in young children and is useful in the assessment of the severity of kidney injury even in patients with negative urine culture. Clinical, biological and ultrasound parameters do not identify children with renal damage. Normal DMSA study, excluding parenchymal involvement and late sequelae, could minimize the use of scintigraphy in the follow-up and reduce the redundancy of cystography.

Technetium Tc 99m Dimercaptosuccinic Acid Renal Scintigraphy in Children With Acute Pyelonephritis Correlation With Other Imaging Tests

Introduction. Urinary tract infection is the most common serious bacterial infection in children. The aim of this study was to compare the value of different laboratory and imaging techniques in detecting renal involvement in acute pyelonephritis. Materials and Methods. In a cross-sectional study of patients 1 month to 14 years of age diagnosed with urinary tract infection were examined with systemic inflammatory markers, renal ultrasonography, voiding cystourethrography (VCUG), and technetium Tc 99m dimercaptosuccinic acid (99mTc-DMSA) renal scintigraphy. A total of 1467 pediatric patients were eligible for treatment of pyelonephritis. Evaluations included a complete blood count, C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), urinalysis, urine culture, and measurement of serum blood urea nitrogen and creatinine levels. Results. The results of 99mTc-DMSA scans were normal in 20.2%, mild decreased cortical uptake in 45.0%, moderate decreased cortical uptake in 12.3%, severe decreased cortical uptake in 12.0%, and decreased cortical function plus irregularity or scar formation in 10.5%. Voiding cystourethrography showed vesicoureteral reflux in 25.9%. The sensitivity of 99mTc-DMSA for prediction of vesicoureteral reflux was 84.1% with a negative predictive value of 80.6%. Significant differences were found in the level of blood leukocyte count (P = .03), urine leukocyte count (P = .003), ESR (P = .008), and age (P = .04) between patients with normal and abnormal 99mTc-DMSA scan results. Conclusions. We found that in patient with clinical signs of pyelonephritis, 99mTc-DMSA renal scintigraphy can detect pyelonephritis more accurately than the other inflammatory and imaging tests.

Kidney Ultrasonography and Dimercaptosuccinic Acid Scans for Revealing Vesicoureteral Reflux in Children With Pyelonephritis: A 7-Year Prospective Cohort Study of 1500 Pyelonephritic Patients and 2986 Renal Units

Background: The presence of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) has been documented in 1.3% of the general population, 70% of infants with urinary tract infection (UTI), and 15–25% of children with UTI. Objectives: The main aims of this prospective cohort study were to compare the efficiency of different imaging techniques [renal ultrasonography, cortical scintigraphy with technetium- 99m dimercaptosuccinic acid (99mTc DMSA)] in detecting VUR in patients with acute pyelonephritis. Patients and Methods: Between June 2003 and March 2010, we recruited a prospective cohort of patients aged 1 month to 14 years. Pediatric patients with documented urinary tract infections and imaging evidence of upper tract involvement were examined by DMSA scintigraphy, renal ultrasonography, and voiding cystourethrography (VCUG). The assessments included UTI profiling, kidney ultrasonography, and DMSA scans. Data were expressed as mean ± SD. Statistical tests were two-tailed and were considered significant when P ≤ 0.05. Results: A total of 1500 pediatric patients were eligible to receive treatment for pyelonephritis. DMSA scans were normal in 20.2% of the patients and abnormal in the remaining 79.8%, and the kidney ultrasonographies yielded normal results in 68.5% of the patients and abnormal results in the remaining 31.5%. There was a significant difference between the ultrasonography reports of patients with normal and abnormal DMSA scans. The VCUG results were normal in 74.1% of the patients and indicated VUR in the remaining 25.9% (VUR grade I in 10.7%, grade II in 7.3%, grade III in 4.7%, grade IV in 1.7%, and grade V in 1.5%). The refluxes were unilateral in 62.9% of the patients and bilateral in the remaining 37.1%. We found a significant correlation between the presence of VUR in VCUG and urological abnormality in ultrasonography (r = 0.14, P < 0.001). The incidence of VUR among patients showing severe abnormalities in DMSA scintigraphy, was significantly higher than that among patients with normal DMSA results or those showing mild to moderate changes in DMSA scintigraphy. Conclusions: We concluded that kidney ultrasonography and DMSA scans can be performed before VCUG in children with UTI. In addition, we recommend performing VCUG in cases of pyelonephritis only when the patients show abnormal kidney ultrasonography or DMSA scan results.

Evaluation of Culture Negative Acute Pyelonephritis with 99m Tc-DMSA Renal Scan in Children

2014

Backgrounds: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is quite common in children and may be symptomatic or asymptomatic. It can lead to acute pyelonephritis (APN) and renal scarring with a risk of hypertension and renal insufficiency. 99mTc-DMSA renal scan (RS) is the gold standard for the definitive diagnosis of APN and subsequent renal cortical scarring with sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of 90%, 95 % and 92%, respectively. RS was the guide to the therapy of suspected APN and affected prognosis substantially. The aim of this study was performed to evaluate the proportion of children with clinical and biological presentation indicative of APN that revealed abnormal RS findings and combined with negative or equivocal urine cultures. We made an attempt on three different age groups to correlate with the clinical and biological manifestations of UTI with the results of the RS. Methods: Between 1993 and 2002, 386 children (175 male and 211 female, age range from 5 days to 15 years, mean a...

Age related radiological imaging in children with acute pyelonephritis

Accurate diagnosis of acute pyelonephritis (APN) using clinical and laboratory parameters is often difficult in children. The aims of this retrospective study were twofold. Firstly, to correlate the clinical and laboratory manifestations of APN with the results of the dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) renal scan in different age groups. Secondly, to compare the DMSA renal scan, renal ultrasonography (RUS), and voiding cystourethrography (VCUG) in patients with clinical APN. The DMSA renal scan was utilized as the gold standard for renal involvement. We determined the sensitivity of these tests in febrile urinary tract infections (UTI) in three age groups: group I less than 2 years; group II 2-8 years; group III older than 8 years. During the period January 1992 through December 1998, 222 children presented with a febrile UTI. All patients had a DMSA renal scan, 208 had contrast VCUG, and 163 had RUS. The clinical and laboratory manifestation of pyelonephritis correlated better with a positive DMSA renal scan in the older children than in the younger children; 85% of the DMSA renal scans were positive in group III; 69% in group II; 48% in group I (P<0.001). Vesicoureteral reflux detected by contrast VCUG was more prevalent in the younger age groups. Although high grades of reflux (grade IV-V) correlated better with a positive DMSA renal scan, it did not reach a level of statistical significance (P>0.05). RUS did not correlate with a positive DMSA renal scan in any age group.

Comparison of ultrasound and dimercaptosuccinic acid scintigraphy changes in acute pyelonephritis

Pediatric Nephrology, 1999

The strategy for morphological investigations in children with acute pyelonephritis (APN) remains debatable. We studied 70 children (median age 2.0 years) admitted with a first episode of pyelonephritis using a high-resolution ultrasound technique (RUS) and compared the results with 99m technetium-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) renal scintigraphy. The DMSA scan was abnormal in 62 children (89%). However, using a high-frequency transducer we found abnormal sonogram changes in 61 children (87%), consisting of an increased kidney volume in 42, and/or a thickening of the wall of the renal pelvis in 42, and/or a focal hyper-or hypoechogenicity in 36, and/or a diffuse hyperechogenicity in 31 children. Micturating cystourethrography was performed in all children, revealing vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) in 22 (31%). Among those children with VUR, 4 had a normal DMSA scan, 2 an abnormal RUS, and 2 a normal DMSA scan and RUS. Our data suggest that B-mode RUS performed with a high-frequency transducer by a trained radiologist is nearly as sensitive as the DMSA scan in diagnosing renal involvement in children with unobstructed APN and in predicting VUR.