Ureteric jet Doppler waveform: is it a reliable predictor of vesicoureteric reflux in children?

The purpose of our prospective study was to find out whether ureteric jet Doppler waveform (UJDW) could be a reliable predictor of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) in children, compared with echo-enhanced voiding ultrasonography (VUS). Echo-enhanced VUS was performed in 75 children, 57 girls and 18 boys, aged 3 years to 12 years, following the accepted indications for this procedure. During the same procedure the measurement of UJDW was also performed and was considered to be successful ( in 70 children) when at least ten UJDWs were recorded per ureteric unit. Depending on the shape of the UJDWs, the sequences were classified into three groups: monophasic, suggestive of VUR; complex, not suggestive of VUR; and mixed sequence, suggestive of VUR when a certain ratio between monophasic and complex UJDWs was achieved. When all three sequences were taken into account, the overall sensitivity and specificity of this method in detecting VUR were 88.5% and 82.3%, respectively. These values seem high enough for this method to be considered as a good alternative to invasive micturating cystographies in screening children for VUR.