Imaging Studies for Childhood Urinary Infections

Abstract

The question of whether to obtain imaging studies after a urinary tract infection in a child is a challenging one. The potential long-term morbidity associated with repeated bouts of pyelonephritis or high-grade vesicoureteral reflux has led to the routine radiographic evaluation of children with urinary tract infections. For a number of years, renal ultrasonography and voiding cystourethrography have been standard diagnostic tests for young children with urinary tract infections and currently are recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.¹ This approach seems particularly cogent for young children, because an acute urinary tract infection might be the first indication of a . . .