ARTICLE
TITLE

Standardised ultrasound technique for evaluation of urinary tract infection in South African children highlighting the capabilities and pitfalls of this modality

SUMMARY

AbstractUrinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the commonest bacterial infections in childhood and has potentially disastrous consequences. The imaging of UTI in children is a controversial subject with divergent imaging protocols existing in the current literature. As ultrasound (US) is a cheap, non-invasive, non-ionizing procedure, it is almost universally accepted as the initial investigation of choice in children with UTI. US reliably demonstrates many important features of the urinary system, including renal size, congenital abnormalities, calculi and, in particular, obstruction to flow of urine (pelvicalyceal dilation). Due to the subjective, user-dependent nature of US, we suggest the adoption of a standardised scanning approach to improve diagnostic accuracy and reproducibility, thereby facilitating patient follow-up. We also hope that standardisation will limit the misinterpretation of US findings that are not evidence-based. This is a pictorial review of the standardised US technique used in the investigation of UTI in children at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital.

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