Bracco Imaging announced that its SonoVue ultrasound contrast agent has obtained approval in the European Union (EU) for use in ultrasonography of the urinary tract for evaluating suspected or known vesicoureteral reflux in pediatric patients.
Vesicoureteral reflux is a urinary tract abnormality characterized by retrograde flow of urine from the bladder into the ureter and toward the kidney, representing a common cause of recurrent urinary tract infections and chronic nephropathy in pediatric patients. Voiding cystourethrography and direct radionuclide cystography are the imaging procedures currently used to diagnose the abnormality, but both require exposure to ionizing radiation.
SonoVue will enable clinicians to examine patients for vesicoureteral reflux without exposing them to radiation. It is a second-generation ultrasound contrast agent already in use for cardiac, vascular, liver, and breast imaging in adults, Bracco said.
