OBJECTIVE: Early diagnosis of voiding dysfunction can minimize social and psychological repercussions and avoid renal lesions. The ureteric jet can be evaluated by color Doppler, and a good correlation has been observed between this method and patients' clinical data in the diagnosis of voiding dysfunction. This study was aimed at evaluating the interobserver agreement in the assessment of the ureteral jet in asymptomatic children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Interobserver agreement was prospectively evaluated. A total of 41 patients were sequentially evaluated by two medical sonographers. For each patient, three consecutive Doppler waveforms were obtained from each of the two ureteral jets. The number of peaks on each wave was observed and classified. The maximum velocity of the highest peak of each waveform was also observed. Kappa coefficients (κ) were calculated. RESULTS: Moderate interobserver agreement was observed (κ = 0.48; 95% confidence interval: 0.36-0.60). Most frequently a plateau pattern was observed for the ureteric jet. Maximum velocities measured by the two observers were respectively 32.37 cm/s and 35.63 cm/s. CONCLUSION: Moderate interobserver agreement was observed in the evaluation of the ureteric jet by means of color Doppler.

Keywords: Ureter, Urination, Children

OBJECTIVE: The present study is aimed at comparing the quality of sonographic abdominal images obtained in fasting and non fasting children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a prospective study including children aged up to 12 years sequentially evaluated by two sonographers. The images were classified according to a score as follows: 1 (non-visualized or partially visualized, inappropriate for diagnosis); 2 (sufficient for diagnosis); or 3 (excellent). Images were also classified into "diagnostic" or "non diagnostic". RESULTS: Seventy-seven patients (47 boys and 30 girls) with ages ranging between 0 and 12 years (median = 1 year) were evaluated. Fasting proved a statistically significant advantage only for evaluating the gallbladder by only one of the observers (p = 0.032). Once the images were classified into either "diagnostic" or "non diagnostic" no difference was observed between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The authors conclude that fasting did not affect significantly the quality of abdominal sonographic images in children.

Keywords: Ultrasonography, Children, Abdominal, Fasting