Clinical and radiological follow-up of chronic non-obstructive pyelonephritis. A retrospective study covering thirty years.

The outcome of uni- or bilateral chronic pyelonephritis was retrospectively studied in 26 patients. The material consists of all positive intravenous urographies performed at the hospital during three years in the 1950s and the follow-up time was approximately 30 years. Development of uraemia or death owing to renal disease occurred in 15% of the patients. The majority of patients with unilateral pyelonephritic changes showed unchanged scarring during the years, while progressive scarring mainly occurred in younger patients. The development of renal failure was found in patients with extensive bilateral scarring, proteinuria and hypertension.