title: The post-angiocardiography urogram in children: should it be abandoned?
abstract: This study examines the value of the urogram radiograph taken after angiocardiography, in children with suspected congenital heart disease, to screen for co-existent urinary tract abnormalities. A retrospective audit of post-angiocardiography urograms over a three year period 1990 to 1993 is presented. 184 urograms obtained in 166 children were reviewed (86 males; mean age 18.1 months). Twenty-five urograms (13.6%) were obtained in cases where the urinary tract had previously been investigated. These urograms contributed no additional information. Image quality was suboptimal in 62 examinations (33.7%), due to gas, faeces or poor opacification, and two lesions were undetected on suboptimal radiographs. Urinary tract abnormalities were detected in 17 patients (10.2%). These lesions were also detectable at sonography. We suggest that routine post-angiocardiography urograms can be abandoned in favour of sonographic screening of the urinary tract in children with congenital heart disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Tuson
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: McHugh
authors.forename: L N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Archer
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ostman-Smith
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Lindsell
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000790:Angiocardiography; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014567:Urography; D014570:Urologic Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*