Severe vesicoureteral reflux and chronic renal failure: a condition peculiar to male gender? Data from the Italkid Project

Marra, Giuseppina; Oppezzo, Chiara; Ardissino, Gianluigi; Daccò, Valeria; Testa, Sara; Avolio, Luigi; Taioli, Emanuela; Sereni, Fabio; on behalf of the ItalKid Project,

doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2004.01.043

« Previous Next »The Journal of Pediatrics
Volume 144, Issue 5 , Pages 677-681, May 2004

Severe vesicoureteral reflux and chronic renal failure: a condition peculiar to male gender? Data from the Italkid Project☆

From the Unit of Pediatric Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation, Department of Pediatrics, ICP and Epidemiology Unit, IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore, Milan; and the Division of Pediatric Surgery, IRCCS Policlinico S. Matteo, Pavia, Italy

Received 29 April 2003; received in revised form 30 September 2003; accepted 12 January 2004.

Abstract

Primary vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), one of the principal causes of chronic renal failure (CRF), occurs as a result of two distinct and sex-related mechanisms: congenital renal hypoplasia, which is prevalent in males, and acquired renal scarring in females.

We used data from the ItalKid Project, a prospective population-based CRF registry of patients undergoing conservative treatment, to evaluate the gender distribution and severity of primary VUR, the age at diagnosis, and the diagnostic and therapeutic methods adopted in children with CRF. The prevalence of males (77.5%), the severity of VUR (grade IV-V), and the early age at diagnosis (18% prenatally) seem to suggest that congenital renal damage is the major cause of pediatric CRF.

Abbreviations: ANZDATA, Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry, CRF, Chronic renal failure, UTIs, Urinary tract infections, VUR, Vesicoureteral reflux