The accuracy of renal point of care ultrasound to detect hydronephrosis in children with a urinary tract infection

Eur J Emerg Med. 2015 Apr;22(2):135-8. doi: 10.1097/MEJ.0000000000000158.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the accuracy of renal point of care ultrasound (POCUS) for the detection of hydronephrosis in children with a urinary tract infection (UTI). We prospectively included all patients with a final diagnosis of UTI who visited our pediatric emergency department between November 2009 and April 2011. Emergency physicians were encouraged to perform a renal POCUS during these visits, and a follow-up renal ultrasonography was performed by a radiologist who was blinded to the results of POCUS. We calculated the accuracy of POCUS to detect hydronephrosis (renal pelvis enlargement ≥10 mm). We included 433 UTI visits, and 382 (88.2%) POCUS were performed. The sensitivity and the specificity were 76.5% (95% confidence interval: 58.1-94.6%) and 97.2% (95.2-99.2%), respectively. The positive and the negative predictive values were 59.1% (36.4-79.3%) and 98.8% (97.7-99.9%), respectively. Renal POCUS might be used to rule out hydronephrosis in pediatric UTI.

MeSH terms

  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Cohort Studies
  • Emergency Service, Hospital*
  • Evaluation Studies as Topic
  • Female
  • France
  • Hospitals, Pediatric
  • Humans
  • Hydronephrosis / complications
  • Hydronephrosis / diagnosis
  • Hydronephrosis / diagnostic imaging*
  • Male
  • Point-of-Care Systems*
  • Prospective Studies
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Ultrasonography, Doppler / methods*
  • Urinary Tract Infections / complications
  • Urinary Tract Infections / diagnosis
  • Urinary Tract Infections / diagnostic imaging*