Proceedings of the British Medical Ultrasound Society 24th Annual Meeting (Abstracts)

Abstract

The value of ultrasound in the assessment of the urinary tract in childhood is well established but maximum information is not always obtained either because the examination is incomplete or because some of the observations are not recorded in sufficient detail for the clinician to be sure that a thorough examination has been carried out. In order to address this problem a systematic approach to the examination and recording of data has been developed and used in clinical practice and research in a paediatric nephrology clinic for 4 years. Using this method data from 858 healthy infants and children were collected and used to develop centile charts for renal length and volume in childhood relative to age and weight. There was no difference in kidney size between males and females either for length or volume vs. age or weight, but left kidneys were larger than the right kidneys in 63% of children and the mean volumes were larger for left kidneys at all ages except in the neonatal period. Conclusion: the value of ultrasound in the examination of the urinary tract in childhood is enhanced by using a systematic approach and by referring to normal ranges.