Prenatal diagnosis and postnatal outcome of congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract system: A single-center retrospective study

Aim: To evaluate the prenatal sonographic findings, prevalence, prognostic factors and postnatal outcome of congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT).Method: This single-center retrospective study was conducted from electronic health records of pregnant women between 18-40 weeks of gestation from January 2015 to January 2022. Babies who were diagnosed as having CAKUT in utero and followed prenatally and postnatally were enrolled in the study.Results: Out of 15,460 fetuses, 417 fetuses had CAKUT with a frequency of 2.6%. The most common CAKUT was hydronephrosis/pelvis dilatation (n=476, 2.1%). Approximately 67% of CAKUT cases showed normalization or regression. A quarter of babies with CAKUT underwent surgery [75% of oligohydramnios cases, 20% of hydronephrosis/pelvis dilatation cases, 14% of megacystis cases, and 37% of multicystic dysplastic kidney disease (MCDK) cases]. The chromosomal anomaly incidence in babies with CAKUT was 1.2%. Eleven (2.7%) babies with CAKUT died in the perinatal period. All babies with bilateral renal agenesis and bilateral MCDK resulted in exitus. Conclusion: CAKUT is a very common anomaly with a prevalence of 2.6%. Most of the CAKUT in our series showed spontaneous regression, and 25% of affected babies needed surgery. Oligohydramnios and bilateral anomalies were risk factors for adverse outcomes.