UTI…

[Anonymous]

So, we just went to see our new ped. We spent an hour with him and he was really thorough. I did feel like he is really young but i think he will be good and he is in sync with the GI, which is what we care about right now.

One thing that he mentioned. Matthew had 2 urinary track infections. The ped in Spain (who i really like and has 30+years experience and heads one if not the best hospital in spain) said that depending on the bacteria found, you go ahead and do a kidney sonogram and other work (invasive). When the lab results got back, he said the bacteria was common and he would not go ahread with the procedures. Now this guy says here in the US, when a boy gets a UTI, you send him to do the procedures, so we are scheduling the sonogram and this invasive test… i am inclined to go ahead with everything ebcause of the feeding issues, but at the same time, I have a feeling that this ped is lacking the experience of the other ped (who by the way also heads the iintensive care unit) and the tests may be unecessary…

ARGGH. Really, last thing i wanted to do was put matthew through anything else. Please can you share if your baby had any tests done relating to UTis and kidney functions (don’t know why this is in italics!!)

Thank you

[Anonymous]

Just answered your other post and mentioned this very issue!!! We are having the kidney ultrasound and something called a PVUC? Not even sure that is the real name or anything about the test, but Carter had a UTI that made him VERY sick, so they want to rule out urinary reflux or any kidney issues.

We are both going to be figuring this one out at the same time, so I will let you know as I get more information……

Ann Marie

[Anonymous]

What a coincidence. Yes, that is the test i was looking for — PVUC. They put in a catheter through penis and they get him some fluids and they do some x-rays. Something like that. Matthew had a catheter inserted to collect urine and he did fine but i heard this one is longer and painful :-(. Oh well well.

The UTI also made Matthew really really sick. I think he had 104 or so for a few days and projectile vomitting for a week maybe. They were terrible, terrible.

The ped’s office will call us back with some dates tomorrow… will keep you updated (I am going to read your other post now!)

[Anonymous]

My older son had that test done at 12 mos old when he was very sick with a uti, he did fine, cried a lot but imo better safe than sorry and from what the dr told me when he found out austin had a uti, they generally do the pvuc if a boy has a uti

[Anonymous]

My first born had a UTI at birth!! Who know’s how that can happen?Anyway, I was fine with them treating it but I wanted to let that be it and go on. The doctors insisted on tests. Here’s what they told me.

If a baby has Kidney Reflux they are at risk of suffering kidney damage due to infected urine backing up into the kidneys. Now the weird thing is that (at least according to what I’ve read) kidney reflux does not cause your child to more succeptible to UTI’s. So, why they automatically test babies with UTI’s for kidney reflux is really not clear to me. I guess they just figure that if your baby has a UTI, they may as well make sure there is no reflux.

My daughter had the kidney ultrasound at birth; it was normal. Then she had that test where they insert a catheter and introduce some fluid into the bladder, and then do x-rays to see if the fluid backs up into the kidneys. It was not a pleasant experience, but definitely not horrible. They can do conscious sedation to make it less traumatic for the baby (and the mommy!). (I did choose the conscious sedation when she had it done again at 8 months, and 18 months).

My daughter was found to have kidney reflux.

She was kept on low dose antiobiotics until she outgrew her kidney reflux at 18 months. The theory is that the antibiotics will prevent future UTI’s and protect the kidneys from damage.

So, what your doctor is reccommending is the same as what my doctors reccommended for Liza.

I’ve done a lot of reading about this condition, and apparently there are differing opinions in the medical community on how to treat it. For instance, when Liza was a baby they routinely catheterized these babies to get a urine sample to check for “break through” infections. I was very, very leery about this because every time they insert a catheter into the bladder they risk introducing a bacteria and causing an infection. I used to avoid this at all costs. Right around the time that Liza outgrew her kidney reflux I read that researchers are no longer reccommending this routine catheterization because of the risk of causing infections!

I’m not trying to scare you, and I think you should go ahead and do the test. At least here, at the hospital they seemed better trained and I wasn’t as worried about the catheter as I was when they wanted to do it at the doctor’s office all the time.

Did they offer conscious sedation? I was really afraid of it and didn’t do it the first time (Liza was only 6 weeks old, so she was fine) but I did do it the second two times and I’m glad I did. She was relaxed, but conscious, and she didn’t remember anything when it was over.

Good luck. I hope the tests go well. Hopefully they are negative and he doesn’t have kidney reflux, but if he does, get as much information as you can so you can have input on how he is treated.

[hellbennt]

is conscious sedation with something called vereset? another mom posted about this drug before (positive post!)

[Anonymous]

Thank you all. I just feel bad putting him through some other tests when there are differing opinions… oh well. We got the appointments for Friday morning, so there you go.

They have not said anything about sedation but i will ask. He had some sedation for the endo and i assume it is similar.

Yes, ped told us that if they find reflux, then it is either course of low antibiotics or surgery, depending on the problem.

[Anonymous]

Good luck with the appointments on Friday – keep us posted!

Ann Marie – just also read your Carter update – hope everything goes OK
and glad you have a GI appointment lined up for him – he’s lucky to
have such a great mom on top of any reflux or other issues!

[Anonymous]

Thais, I remember reading that Brian ie. Sharon Liu’s son has urinary reflux so maybe she can tell you more about this. Good luck on Friday.

[Anonymous]

Laura, I don’t remember the name of the drug they used for Liza’s conscious sedation, but vereset doesn’t ring a bell at all. Whatever it was, my doctor said it was very, very safe because there is an antidote, so if there was any problem at all they could give the antidote right away.

The way it worked is that Liza became very relaxed and giddy. She was laughing and had no fear at all, even though she was terrified of doctors at that age. She was sleepy, but never went into a deep sleep. When it was over she was sleepy most of the day, but otherwise had no side effects at all. The best part is that they told me she would have no memory of the event.

[Anonymous]

There are different drugs that you can use to achieve a state of conscious sedation. The drug they choose depends on the procedure being done and the level of consciousness required for testing. When my older daughter had her EEG they used chloral hydrate, which is an oral sedative. But it varies from test to test.

[Anonymous]

Thais – Brian had an UTI when he was 4 1/2 month, ped recommend the renal ultrasound and VCUG right the way, ped said that it is uncommon for boys to get an UTI because their anatomy structure, so it is important to get the test done in order to rule out urinary reflux and prevent damage to kidney. We had both procedure done in a general hospital, Brian had renal ultrsound first, it was an easy test (just like you had uterine ultrasound when you were pregnant). Then he had VCUG, but because we were in a general hospital, and they did not have enough experience and right professional to deal with the pediatric patient, so we had a horrible experice with the VCUG and test did not get done. The second time, we went to a children’s hospital, and we had a great experience, VCUG was done in 15 minue. If you decide to do the test for Matthew, please choose a childrent’s hospital (not those hospitals with pediatric department). With the right professional (pediatric nurse – who put the catheter in, pediatric radiologist – who do the test) and experience, VCUG should not be painful and long. You can stay in the room during the procudure (my husband chose not to stay) and know the result right the way. I can see (from a TV screen) the dye which they put throught the catheter went up to Brian’s kidney. Brian has a very mild case of unrinary reflux and does not require sugery, but only on low dose of antibiotic (which I think decrease his appetite, but better than get kidney infection). His Urologist thinks he will not outgrow it before 2, so we will repeat VCUG at 2, I really hope he can outgrow by then. If you have any question, please post and ask.

[Anonymous]

I hope that the test shows everything to be normal! I will be praying for you and matthew!

[Anonymous]

That’s it, Sharon! VCUG. I did ask yesterday at the hospital and they said the same thing. They use the catheter to put dye into the bladder and then check for the reflux using xray.

Question, Sharon. Because of the long term antibiotics, do you have Brian on a probiotic? They mentioned this was a possibility with Carter to have him on an antibiotic long term and I have raised concern, but like you would rather have him on antibiotics than deal with kidney infection.

Besides giving the antibiotic daily, are there any other effects of having this, or is Brian virtually unaware of it?

one more question, has he had repeat UTIs or are the antibiotics effective in keeping those away as well?

monty1232006-4-25 9:23:50

[Anonymous]

Thais,

What Sharon Liu said is very, very important. Make sure it is a pediatric nurse inserting the catheter. I’ve seen inexperienced people try to catheterize an infant, and it can be very bad. I don’t mean to scare you….but what I did was call the hospital and ask who would be doing the catheter. They said the radiology people would do it. These people had little experience with infants. I insisted that a pediatric nurse do the catheter and they agreed. As soon as I arrived I reminded them to call the pediatric nurse (they would not have remembered). I’m so glad I did. She was terrific. Had tons of experience with inserting catheters in little babies. The procedure was quick, and seemed to be relatively painless, because she knew what she was doing.

I’m lucky I have a wonderful doctor and she’s the one who told me that the pediatric nurse was a possibility. Evidently only people who ask (and insist) will get that special treatment (at least at the hospital where Liza had her test). I just wanted to pass this information along to you. Anything to make the procedure less traumatic for you and the baby.

Good luck. I hope it goes well.

[Author]

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