THE ROLE OF MICTURATING CYSTOURETHROGRAPHY IN ANTENATALLY DETECTED MILD HYDRONEPHROSIS

Background. The postnatal imaging of infants with antenatally detected mild hydronephrosis remains controversial. Objective. Our aim was to establish the role and timing of micturating cystourethrography (MCUG) in mild hydronephrosis. Materials and methods. We performed a retrosp ective study of 61 infants (122 kidneys) referred with an antenatal di agnosis of hydronephrosis who showed persistent postnatal dilatation. All had follow-up postnatal ultrasound (US) and MCUG performed. The de gree of dilatation at each follow-up scan was recorded. Results. Of th e 122 kidneys, 65 showed mild hydronephrosis. A substantial proportion of these (21.5%) demonstrated reflux. Serial US of these infants show ed that the 6-week scan was the most informative and that any changes that warranted further investigation had occurred by this time. Conclu sion. We recommend that all infants with mild hydronephrosis should un dergo MCUG. MCUG need not be delayed until 3 months but could be perfo rmed following a 6-week US scan.