Vesicoureteral reflux: Who benefits from correction

There has been an emergence of a therapeutic nihilistic attitude about the surgical treatment of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR). Evidence-based reviews have questioned whether surgical treatment is beneficial for children with VUR. Even the use of prophylactic antibiotics, which have traditionally been the first-line therapy recommended for virtually all patients with VUR, has come under scrutiny after several randomized controlled trials found them to have no effect on decreasing the risk of urinary tract infections (UTIs) in children with VUR. Grade is the strongest predictor of VUR resolution, with high-grade VUR being much less likely to resolve. Other factors that negatively influence resolution include lower bladder volume or pressure at onset of reflux, older age, female sex, bilateral VUR, ureteral duplication, abnormal or scarred kidneys, and bladder dysfunction. These factors can be used, along with grade, in computer models or nomograms to improve the ability to predict spontaneous resolution.