Evaluation of Bilateral Ureteral Urinary Jet Flows for Patency of Uretero- Vesical Junctions by Color Flow Imaging

ABSTRACT

Background: Ureters are meant to transport urine from the pelvis to the urinary bladder in the form of urinary jet. This is continuous process with intermittent release of urine at uretero-vesical junction. This is regulated by autonomous nervous system. The urine coming to urinary bladder can be seen by color flow imaging (CFI) .This also reflects the patency of the ureter without any obstruction in the pathway. Methods: The size of the population was 30 patients (20 males and 10 females). In this study, the Color Doppler ultrasound was used to evaluate the ureteral jets flow in 10 healthy patients and 20 patients with obstructive uropathy. A probability sampling method was employed while collecting samples. Results: In the right ureteral-vesical junction there was complete absence of detectable jets in 5 patients, 6 patients had weak flow of jet and 19 patients had normal flow of jet. Similarly, in the left ureteral-vesical junction there was complete absence of detectable jet in 3 patients, 12 patients had weak flow and 15 patients had normal flow. Conclusions: The color Doppler evaluation of the ureteral jets is a valid method of evaluating ureteral and renal calculi obstruction and could be a first line of investigation to detect ureteric obstruction in patients with obstructive uropathy.