Objective: in our study, we wanted to assess changes and values of the renal resistive index (RI) in children with vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) using color Doppler ultrasound (CDUS) techniques.
Methods: We investigated 92 kidney units in 46 children (mean age 6 +/- 4 years) with VUR by means of CDUS. The RI was measured at the level of the interlobar and/or arcuate arteries using a color Doppler unit Acuson 128 XP/10. The CDUS findings were correlated with those obtained using standard renal scintigraphy.
Results: Children with VUR grades I-III showed a RI of 0.6 +/- 0.07, whereas patients suffering from VUR grades IV and V demonstrated a significantly increased RI of 0.77 +/- 0.07 (p < 0.0001). The correlation of the CDUS measurements with the scintigraphic findings revealed a positive correlation coefficient of r2 = 0.61.
Conclusions: CDUS seems to be a helpful, radiation-free, noninvasive, and inexpensive tool in children with VUR, demonstrating a significant change in the RI especially in high-grade reflux. Moreover, the RI findings represent a good correlation with standard renal scintigraphy. Therefore, CDUS with assessment of the RI allows a perfect follow-up study of affected children.