ABSTRACT
The main cause of urethral obstruction in neonates and
infants is related to posterior urethral valves (PUV) and these
continue to be a significant cause of morbidity and mortality
in the pediatric age patients.1,2 In males, children born with
bladder obstructive uropathy and renal dysplasia represent
the single largest group undergoing renal dialysis and
transplantation under five years of age. End-stage renal
disease develops in a significant proportion, varying from
30 to 42%.13 In 2003, the Italkid Project, consisting of a
prospective population-based registry assessing the epide-
miology of chronic renal failure (CRF) in 1197 children
recruited over ten years, showed that renal hypodysplasia,
with identified congenital uropathy, was the most common
cause of CRF (43.6%): in this group, PUV was second only to
vesico-ureteral reflux (VUR), accounting for 23.8%.4
