DIAGNOSTIC ACCURACY OF SERUM AND URINARY BIOMARKERS FOR RENAL SCARING IN CHILDREN WITH VESICOURETERAL REFLUX: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS

Renal scarring (RS) is a significant long-term complication of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), traditionally diagnosed by dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) scintigraphy, a costly imaging modality involving ionizing radiation. Non-invasive serum and urinary biomarkers have been proposed as alternative diagnostic tools. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of these biomarkers for detecting RS in children with VUR.