Different guidelines for imaging after first UTI in febrile infants: yield, cost, and radiation.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the yield, economic, and radiation costs of 5 diagnostic algorithms compared with a protocol where all tests are performed (ultrasonography scan, cystography, and late technetium99dimercaptosuccinic acid scan) in children after the first febrile urinary tract infections. METHODS: A total of 304 children, 2 to 36 months of age, who completed the diagnostic follow-up (ultrasonography, cystourethrography, and acute and late technetium99dimercaptosuccinic acid scans) of a randomized controlled trial (Italian Renal Infection Study 1) were eligible. The guidelines applied to this cohort in a retrospective simulation were: Melbourne Royal Children’s Hospital, National Insti…