3D/4D contrast-enhanced urosonography (ceVUS) in children - is it superior to the 2D technique?

Background: By now, two-dimensional contrast-enhanced voiding urosonography (ceVUS) has become a well-established method for the diagnosis and treatment monitoring of vesicoureteral reflux in children, particularly after the recent approval for this application in children in the USA and in Europe. The introduction of three-dimensional static (3D) and real-time (4D) techniques with ultrasound contrast agents opens up new diagnostic opportunities for this imaging modality.

Objective: To analyze whether 3D and 4D ceVUS is a superior technique compared to standard 2D ceVUS in diagnosing vesicoureteral reflux in children.

Antihypertensive treatment prescription in pediatric dialysis patients in Poland: A comparison between two nationwide studies 2003/2004-2013.

Background: Blood pressure in pediatric dialyzed patients is under poor control.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the strategy and efficacy of antihypertensive drugs used for the treatment of hypertension in pediatric dialyzed patients in 2013 in comparison with the data collected in 2003/2004. The results have been viewed against present strategies of antihypertensive treatment in children.

Long-Term Outcome of Steroid-Resistant Nephrotic Syndrome in Children.

We investigated the value of genetic, histopathologic, and early treatment response information in prognosing long-term renal outcome in children with primary steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome. From the PodoNet Registry, we obtained longitudinal clinical information for 1354 patients (disease onset at >3 months and <20 years of age): 612 had documented responsiveness to intensified immunosuppression (IIS), 1155 had kidney biopsy results, and 212 had an established genetic diagnosis. We assessed risk factors for ESRD using multivariate Cox regression models.

What has changed in the prevalence of hypertension in dialyzed children during the last decade?

Background: Hypertension very often accompanies progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in children. A cross-sectional analysis of hypertension prevalence in dialyzed children in Poland was designed with a comparison with the data previously recorded 10 years earlier.

Methods: Two cohorts of children were analyzed: 59 subjects dialyzed in 2013, and 134 children from the previous study performed in 2003 that were reevaluated according to the current methodology.

Color Doppler dynamic tissue perfusion measurement: a novel tool in the assessment of renal parenchymal perfusion in children with vesicoureteral reflux.

Introduction: Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) occurs in 20-50% of children suffering from recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) and is associated with an increased risk of renal scarring and impaired renal function. Early detection of renal perfusion deterioration would allow for the implementation of more aggressive treatment and potentially prevent further damage to the renal parenchyma. The aim of the study was to assess renal parenchymal perfusions in children with recurrent UTIs with and without coexisting VUR, and compare the findings with the results of healthy patients.

Two-dimensional (2D), three-dimensional static (3D) and real-time (4D) contrast enhanced voiding urosonography (ceVUS) versus voiding cystourethrography (VCUG) in children with vesicoureteral reflux.

Background: Two-dimensional (2DUS) contrast enhanced voiding urosonography has been used in the diagnosis and treatment monitoring of the vesicoureteral reflux in children for over 15 years. The opportunity of performing this examination with the use of three-dimensional static (3DUS) and real-time (4DUS) techniques opens up new diagnostic horizons.

Objective: To analyze if 3DUS/4DUS bring additional information leading to an increased detection rate or change in the grading of reflux compared to 2DUS and voiding cystouretrography.

Early Markers of Tubulointerstitial Fibrosis in Children With Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome: Preliminary Report.

Unlabelled: Tubulointerstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of chronic kidney disease (CKD). They are also major determinants in chronic kidney disease development and progression in patients with primary renal diseases characterized by persistent or recurrent proteinuria. The purpose of the study was to assess urinary excretion of alpha-glutathione S-transferase (alpha-GST), pi-glutathione S-transferase (pi-GST), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), and serum NGAL level in children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS).

Genotype-phenotype associations in WT1 glomerulopathy.

WT1 mutations cause a wide spectrum of renal and extrarenal manifestations. Here we evaluated disease prevalence, phenotype spectrum, and genotype-phenotype correlations of 61 patients with WT1-related steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome relative to 700 WT1-negative patients, all with steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome. WT1 patients more frequently presented with chronic kidney disease and hypertension at diagnosis and exhibited more rapid disease progression.

2D/3D/4D contrast-enhanced voiding urosonography in the diagnosis and monitoring of treatment of vesicoureteral reflux in children - can it replace voiding cystourethrography?

Introduction: Vesicoureteral reflux appears in 20-50% of pediatric patients with recurrent urinary tract infections. The most common method of diagnosing this disease is voiding cystourethrography. However, contemporary pediatric radiology does not favor this method due to exposure to X-radiation.

Mutational analysis in podocin-associated hereditary nephrotic syndrome in Polish patients: founder effect in the Kashubian population.

Hereditary nephrotic syndrome is caused by mutations in a number of different genes, the most common being NPHS2. The aim of the study was to identify the spectrum of NPHS2 mutations in Polish patients with the disease. A total of 141 children with steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) were enrolled in the study.

Bilateral slipped capital femoral epiphysis in a male adolescent with familial hypomagnesemia with hypercalciuria and nephrocalcinosis (FHHNC), chronic renal failure, and severe hyperparathyroidism.

Unlabelled: Slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE) is the most common orthopedic hip disorder affecting otherwise healthy adolescents. The majority of SCFE cases are classified as idiopathic; rarely, it may be secondary to different endocrinopathies including hyperparathyroidism due to chronic renal failure (CRF). However, over the last decades, the association between SCFE and CRF has almost disappeared, probably due to better management of renal osteodystrophy.

Anaemia treatment in chronically dialysed children: a multicentre nationwide observational study.

Objective: Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) are applied as a standard therapy in children with anaemia in chronic kidney disease. The aim of this study was to describe the efficacy and details of ESA treatment in a population of dialysed children in Poland.

Material And Methods: The study had a prospective observational design and was performed in 12 dialysis centres.

[Malformations of urinary system in our series of children--treatment approaches].

The purpose of the study was to analyze treatment approaches in children with malformations of urinary system. The retrospective study comprised 557 children (196 boys and 361 girls) aged 1-18 years with malformations of urinary system hospitalized in 2000-2007 in the Department of Pediatric Nephrology, University Children's Hospital, Lublin. Primary and secondary vesicoureteral reflux (269 children), ureteral obstruction (102 children), urethral obstruction (91 children) and renal duplication (83 children) were the most common malformations observed.

[Coexistence of nephrocalcinosis and renal failure in children--own experiences].

Unlabelled: Nephrocalcinosis (NC) is defined by increased calcium content of the kidney. To be identified radiologically it must be substantially gross accumulation of calcium within renal tissue. The incidence of NC in children is very low.

[Severe hypercalcemia as a complication of intensive treatment for osteoporosis due to steroid therpay in 17-year-old girl with the nephrotic syndrome].

In the article, 17-year-old girl with iatrogenic severe hipercalcemia was presented. The girl was treated since the age of 12 years for steroid-sensitive minimal change disease. Due to steroid therapy osteoporosis developed and intensive treatment with active form of vitamin D and high doses of calcium was started.

[Urodynamic disturbances among children with vesico-ureteral reflux (VUR)].

Unlabelled: Lower urinary tract dysfunction plays significant role in patogenesis of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR). Thus, urodynamic assessment is very useful in diagnosis and treatment of VUR.

Aim: Assessment of the incidence of urodynamic disturbances among children with VUR.

[Treatment of first incidences of urolithiasis in children].

Unlike adults urolithiasis in children is a rare disease. For this reason medical treatment in this age group is still a serious therapeutic challenge. The aim of the study was to analyze the results of the applied treatment in the first incidences of urinary stones disease.

[Carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae in nasopharynx in children with nephrotic syndrome aged 2-5 years in Poland].

Children with nephrotic syndrome (NS) are at increased risk of Streptococcus pneumoniae infections. Streptococcus pneumoniae carrier state in the nasopharynx is an early stage of this infections. The aim of the study was to assess carriage rate and characterise bacterial isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae among children with NS in a prospective multicentre study involving 10 nephrologic centres in Poland.

[Incidence of urinary system malformations in children with the nephrotic syndrome].

The purposes of the study were a) to assess the incidence of urinary system malformations in children with the nephrotic syndrome (NS) and b) to estimate their effect on clinical course of the NS. A retrospective analysis comprised medical records of patients aged 2-18 years hospitalized in the Department of Pediatric Nephrology, University Children's Hospital, Lublin. Urinary tract infections (UTI) occurred in 28% of children with the NS.

[Ten-year experience in renal replacement therapy in children. A report from Dialysis Center, Department of Pediatric Nephrology, Children's University Hospital in Lublin].

Since January 26th of 1996, when our center was established, 34 children (19 boys and 15 girls) with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) were treated with renal replacement therapy. Maintenance hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PO) were received by 28 and 6 patients, respectively. In our patients, the most common cause of ESRD were congenital urinary system malformations (61.

[Urinary citrate excretion in children with calcium urolithiasis].

Unlabelled: Citrate is thought to be one of the most important inhibitor of calcium salts crystallization in the urine. Therefore, an assessment of urinary citrate excretion is an integral element of metabolic evaluation in urolithiasis. The reported incidence of urolithiasis associated with hypocitraturia varies from 10% to 63%.

[Serum TGF-beta1 level in children with reflux nephropathy].

Reflux nephropathy is a progressive renal scarring due to chronic pyelonephritis developing in patients with vesico-ureteral reflux. TGF-beta1 is thought to be one of the most important factor that initiates reflux nephropathy and stimulates its progression. The purpose of the study was to assess serum TGF-beta1 level in children with reflux nephropathy.

[The diagnosis of familial hypomagnesemia with hypercalciuria and nephrocalcinosis in a girl with acute lymphoblastic leukemia--case report].

Familial hypomagnesemia with hypercalciuria and nephrocalcinosis (FHHNC) is a rare autosomal recessive tubulopathy resulting from mutation in the gene encoding paracelin 1. The main symptoms of FHHNC include excessive urinary calcium and magnesium excretion, nephrocalcinosis, and chronic renal failure. We present 16-year old girl in whom symptoms of FHHNC were accidentally recognized during therapy of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Acute renal failure due to bilateral xanthine urolithiasis in a boy with Lesch-Nyhan syndrome.

Lesch-Nyhan syndrome is a very rare X-linked recessive disorder caused by mutation in the gene encoding enzyme hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT). A complete deficiency of HPRT leads to severe purine overproduction and to uric acid renal lithiasis as a consequence. This may be effectively prevented by administration of allopurinol; however, its overdosage may result in xanthinuria and xanthine urolithiasis.