Abnormalities of the urinary tract in association with congenital cardiovascular disease.

The incidence of urinary tract abnormalities in a group of infants and children with congenital cardiovascular disease was determined by assessing roentgenograms of the abdomen taken following angiocardiographic studies. The urinary tracts of 400 of these patients were so outlined, but in 50 others the tracts could not be outlined. In 21 of the latter the urinary tracts were assessed at autopsy.Of these 421 children, nine (approximately 2%) had serious urinary tract disease, and 15 (approximately 3.5%) had anomalies which were of no clinical significance.The incidence of four renal anomalies-bifid collecting system, rotated kidney, horsehoe kidney and ectopic kidney-was compared with that in another group of patients without cardiovascular disease. No significant difference was found in the incidence of these four anomalies in the two groups.