Ultrasonographical aspects of urinary schistosomiasis: Assessment of morphological lesions in the upper and lower urinary tract

Ultrasonographic evaluation of 213 patients with urinary schistosomiasis in different age groups was performed in an endemic area of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The results were compared with 94 age matched controls without urinary schistosomiasis. In patients the bladder showed thickening of the wall, polypoid lesions of the mucosa and bladder wall, calcifications and urinary retention. Urinary tract obstruction, predominantly unilateral, was demonstrated. The lesions increased in severity with the intensity of infection, parallel to an increase in ova excretion. Children aged between 8 and 19 years were most severely affected. Pathological lesions of the upper urinary tract were rar…