Urine is produced in the kidneys, and is delivered to the bladder via the ureter. The urine is stored in the bladder until the organ is full, and is carried outside the body through the urethra. Kidney reflux occurs when urine does not flow from the bladder outside the body as normal, but instead reverses course and refluxes back into the kidneys. Kidney reflux, also called vesicoureteral or urinary reflux, can be diagnosed in newborns and even before birth in some cases.
Cause
Your newborn may suffer from kidney reflux due to an anatomic abnormality. The valves of your baby's ureter, the tube through which urine flows from the kidney to the bladder, may not work properly, causing the urine to flow to the kidneys instead downwards toward the outside the body. Newborns diagnosed with heart problems or esophageal atresia -- an incomplete formation of the esophagus -- can also have a higher risk of developing vesicoureteral reflux.
Symptoms
Symptoms of kidney reflux can include hydronephrosis, or a swelling of the kidneys. A renal ultrasound shows swelling of the organs due to the accumulation of urine. Dark or foul-smelling urine may be an indicator of urinary reflux as well. Your newborn can become irritable, feverish and lack appetite when kidney reflux has advanced into a urinary tract infection.
Statistics
Kidney reflux is common in newborns and young children. Hydronephrosis is not an unusual occurrence to find during ultrasounds of a fetus, explains the National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse. Kidney Kids of New Zealand, a support group for parents of children with kidney issues, states that as many as 33 percent of newborns, infants and children who have a urinary tract infection are found to have some level of urinary reflux as well. Many children outgrow reflux by the time they reach adolescence, if not earlier.
Treatment
Treatment of kidney reflux in newborns varies according to the severity of the condition. Mild reflux in which only the ureter is affected with minor swelling of only one kidney may be monitored and antibiotics are administered to the baby to prevent infection. Shunts may be placed in the baby's bladder to keep the urine flowing in the right direction. Surgery is required for severe kidney reflux, to prevent further complications and permanent kidney dysfunction.
