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Misdiagnoses caused by use of indwelling urethral catheters in children with ureterovesical junction anomalies

  • Urology - Original Paper
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Abstract

Purpose

Children commonly undergo vesicograms for diagnosing vesicoureteral reflux (VUR). This requires urethral catheterization with transurethral replacement. We report misdiagnosed or related complications due to indwelling urethral catheters unintentionally placed in the ureter.

Methods

From our computerized urology records over an 18-year period from January 1995 to May 2013, we retrospectively identified nine cases of 1850 vesicograms that had misdirection of a urethral catheter placed in a ureter. Foley catheters with inflating balloons were used to obtain the vesicograms.

Results

In all, 1850 vesicograms were performed (746 males, 1104 females; age 1 week to 14 years, mean age 3.8 years) using standard radiological techniques. Size 6–10 Fr indwelling urethral catheters were used, depending on the patient’s age and gender. In nine cases (five females, four males), a misdirected urethral catheter was discovered in one of the ureters. The urethral catheter was in the left ureter in four patients and in the right ureter in five patients. Cystoscopic examination found ectopic ureteral openings in six patients: at the bladder neck in four and just below the bladder trigone in two. Three patients in this group with ectopic ureters were followed due a misdiagnosis of VUR. The remaining three patients had grade 3 or 4 VUR. In this group, the catheter passed into the ureter because of the enlarged ureterovesical junction. In one patient with VUR, intraparenchymal fluid leakage and transient hematuria occurred due to the rapid tension increase following the fast injection of contrast with liquid to one ureter.

Conclusion

Although placing an indwelling urethral catheter is a relatively safe procedure, complications can occur, particularly in patients with ureterovesical anomalies, such as high-grade VUR or an ectopic ureter. Using catheters with inflating balloons can cause rapid increases in tension in the ureter, and related complications.

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Conflict of interest

Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatric Surgery, Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey

    Süleyman Çelebi, Özgür Kuzdan, Seyithan Özaydın, Ünal Güvenç & Oyhan Demirali

  2. Tahtakale mah. T32 cad. Bizimevler 4 C2, D:48 Ispartakule- Avcılar, Istanbul, Turkey

    Süleyman Çelebi

  3. Department of Pediatric Urology, Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey

    Serdar Sander

  4. Department of Pediatric Nephrology, Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey

    Sevgi Yavuz & Aysel Kıyak

Authors
  1. Süleyman Çelebi
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  2. Serdar Sander
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  3. Özgür Kuzdan
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  4. Seyithan Özaydın
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  5. Ünal Güvenç
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  6. Sevgi Yavuz
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  7. Aysel Kıyak
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  8. Oyhan Demirali
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Correspondence to Süleyman Çelebi.

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Çelebi, S., Sander, S., Kuzdan, Ö. et al. Misdiagnoses caused by use of indwelling urethral catheters in children with ureterovesical junction anomalies. Int Urol Nephrol 47, 579–583 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11255-015-0934-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11255-015-0934-z

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