Research Article | Open Access
The Relationship between Vesicoureteral Reflux in Infants with Nephrolithiasis and Microlithiasis without Hydronephrosis and Urinary Tract Infection base of ultrasonography finding: A Cross-Sectional Study
Baharak Maddahi , Mohammad Nanbakhsh , Mohammad Khezri , Farshad Gharebakhshi4 ,Keivan Karrabi5 ,Kamran Safa , Hossein Mardanparvar , Hashem Mahmoodzadeh
Pages: 2349-2356
Abstract
Background: Infantile nephrolithiasis (IN) is a serious medical condition and its incidence has increased
recently. Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) can be considered as a possible cause of infantile nephrolithiasis (IN). In
patients with VUR, renal scarring can occur with UTI therefore, identifying reflux to prevent recurrent urinary
tract infections and renal scarring is of particular importance. In this study, we investigated the relationship
between urinary reflux in infants with nephrolithiasis and Microlithiasis without Hydronephrosis and UTI.
Method: We reviewed the medical records of 144 children under the age of 12 months (63 girls, 81 boys)
diagnosed with Microlithiasis. All clinical and laboratory data were evaluated including age and sex distribution,
presence and severity of reflux, presence of urinary tract abnormalities, UTI, hydronephrosis, and analysis of
size, number, and position of stone. A diagnosis of microlithiasis was made if the image shows calculus with
posterior shadow <3mm and nephrolithiasis 3mm< on the renal ultra-sonography. Patients with urinary tract
abnormalities and UTI were excluded from our study.
Results: Among 144 infants with kidney stones 45.8% had VUR so the differences between frequency of VUR
and kidney stone were significant (P = 0.045). Our results showed that 31% of patients with unilateral stones and
52% of patients with bilateral stones had VUR, which was statistically significant (P = 0.02).
Conclusion: Our data suggest that VUR is significantly associated with renal microlithiasis and nephrolithiasis
in infants without previous UTI or hydronephrosis.
Keywords
Vesicoureteral Reflux, Infants, Nephrolithiasis, Microlithiasis, Urinary Tract Infection.