ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES@#Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) is a common abnormality of the urinary tract in children andremains a dilemma that is commonly seen by physicians. Unrecognized VUR associated with UTImay lead to long term effects on renal function and overall patient health. To date, there is no currentstudy on voiding patterns of children presenting as recurrent UTI with and without VUR. In thisstudy, the authors aim to determine if there is a difference in the voiding pattern of toilet trainedFilipino children with UTI between those with and without VUR and to see if there is associationbetween these parameters with the degree of VUR.@*MATERIALS AND METHODS@#The study employed a prospective research design. Population consisted ofpediatric patients seen in the clinic diagnosed as a case of UTI documented with positive urineculture. Voiding cystourethrogram was done to determine presence or absence of VUR. The procedurewas done by a single Urologist at a single institution. The patients were then subdivided into 2 groups,the first group consisted of patients with UTI with VUR and another group had those with UTI butwithout VUR. A subanalysis was done to determine association depending on the degree of reflux.Logistic regression analysis, chi-square test and ANOVA were used to determine if there was anystatistically significant difference between the two groups.@*RESULTS@#A total of 223 pediatric patients with ages ranging from 2 years to 17 years with mean age of9.5 years with documented urinary tract infection were noted. Among these, only 140 patientsunderwent VCUG hence included in the study. It consists of 57 male patients (40%) and 83 femalepatients (59%). Among these patients, 65 patients (46%) had vesicoureteral reflux and 75 patients(53%) had no vesicoureteral reflux. Each patient's voiding parameters such as bladder wall thickness,bladder capacity, postvoid residual, Qmax and voiding pattern were noted and compared betweengroups. A subanalysis was also done to determine any association of these parameters to the degree ofreflux.@*CONCLUSION@#In the present series, bladder capacity was the only parameter found to be statisticallydifferent between those with and those without VUR. Furthermore, this difference was only seenamong those with grades 3, 4 and 5 refluxes. Future study must be carried out to determine its clinicalsignificance. Physicians must be vigilant and must have a high index of suspicion in dealing withpatients with episodes of febrile UTI. To date, voiding cystourethrogram is still the gold standard todiagnose this disease entity.