Reflux nephropathy

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Reflux nephropathy is kidney scarring caused by urine flowing backward from the bladder into a ureter and toward a kidney.
(See also Overview of Kidney Filtering Disorders.)
Normally, where the bladder and the ureter join, the ureter tunnels slightly sideways through the bladder wall. The muscles of the bladder wall help keep the end of the ureter shut so that urine flows in only one direction—from the ureter into the bladder. Some people are born with abnormalities of the junction between the ureter and bladder that allow the urine to flow backward during urination—from the bladder into the ureters. This condition is called vesicoureteral reflux (VUR). It can occur in one or both ureters. The backward flow of urine makes urinary tract infections (UTIs) more likely to develop and to cause kidney inflammation and scarring, a condition called reflux nephropathy.
About 30 to 45% of children and about 1% of newborns who have a UTI that causes a fever have VUR. VUR sometimes tends to run in families and is less common among blacks. Children usually outgrow VUR by about age 5 years.
VUR causes no symptoms, but children with VUR tend to have repeated UTIs. Reflux nephropathy causes no symptoms. Occasionally, children with reflux nephropathy develop chronic kidney disease, sometimes during adolescence.