Pediatric Urinary Tract Infections: Could Your Child Suffer from Vesicoureteral Reflux?

Pediatric urinary tract infections afflict 3% of all children in the United States each year with girls suffering more commonly than boys. In very rare cases, the condition is chronic and can debilitate child development.  In the rare case of chronic urinary tract infections, also known as UTI, the pediatrician may test the child for a condition known as vesicoureteral reflux. Understanding the cause and origin of vesicoureteral reflux, in addition to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment, will foster a more healthy child growth and development process.

During normal urine elimination, the bladder contracts and urine travels to the urethra and is expelled from the body. In urinary tract disorders, a sort of reflux action may occur resulting in a process by which the urine travels back into the ureter during urination. Because the normal urination process allows urine to pass from the kidneys, into the bladder and then into the ureter for discharge, the reflux condition causes the urine in the bladder or ureter, to revert and travel back into the kidneys resulting in a urinary tract infection.  When this reflux motion is chronic, and the pediatric patient repeatedly suffers from UTI, this could be an indicator of pediatric onset of vesicoureteral reflux.  With a genetic component, vesicoureteral reflux is common among siblings with a 33% change a sibling will suffer from the same condition.