Why would dd need an ultrasound for a uti?

[Namechangenurseryconcerns]

Took dd to Drs last week as she was having a few toilet issues-namely never feeling like she'd finished a wee.
Dr tested urine there and then and found white blood cells but no sign of infection.
Started her on ABs as a precaution.

Tbh by this point i thought the toilet issues were emotional rather than physical.

But had message from dr today to say that the sample sent to the lab had shown/grown an infection, that the ABs she was on wouldn't work for that kind of infection and to collect new ones.

Also that she'd been referred for an ultrasound to her 'tummy'

I'm not an worrier (unlike DH who is panicking) but just wondered why this was the case? What are they looking for?

They will just check the kidneys - size, shape, etc. Sometimes kids get referred for another scan to look at the function of the kidneys too, to see if there's damage/scarring caused by the water infection. This would happen if there is reflux of urine from the bladder back up to the kidneys, which would take the infection up with it.

I feel awful because she started complaining before Christmas but I just got her to drink more water and thought she'd got over it.
If there is damage to the kidneys will it be a long term issue?

Namechange, dc1 has kidney damage (function somewhere between 50 and 75 percent), and doesn't suffer any problems usually, so try not to worry about that.
I hope it all turns out to be a glitch.

Don't be too hard on yourself. Not all kids present typically with a uti. As far as I know, if scarring is detected, unless it's severe, they generally just monitor kids as they grow up (annual blood pressure checks and the like). I do this sort of scanning and I don't see it too often; the dr is likely just being thorough.

Forgot to add, scarring is permanent, but if picked up early they can hopefully prevent any more by keeping an eye on her and treating water infections promptly. If she does turn out to have reflux, many kids outgrow it (something like 75% do), so in that case she'd have scans every so often to monitor her.

As others have said it will be to check her kidneys. DS1 had a blockage in the tube that runs between kidney and bladder when he was born and had regular ultrasound scans. They'll want to check that either her kidneys haven't been affected by the uti or that her kidneys aren't causing the uti

They are checking to see that your daughter has normal anatomy of the urinary tract. Recurrent uti in small children can cause problems if the child has'reflux ' i.e. When the bladder contracts to pass urine out some is squeezed back up the ureters towards the kidneys potentially carrying infected urine with it. If this abnormality is present children are put on daily low dose antibiotics for a few years until the kidneys have grown. Most babies have been scanned in the womb so other abnormalities that might make uti more likely or more risky e.g. Only having 1 kidney is discovered on utero.
It is rare to find a problem but as ultrasounds are harmless it is 'better safe than sorry'... there are guidelines regarding this

Ok thanks. It just seemed a bit of a leap from the dr saying 'no, doesn't seem to be anything there' to a scan but yes, hopefully she's just being thorough which is good!

My DS had this and it was because the type of infection was an unusual one so they wanted the scan to check there was nothing going on. So maybe it's just an unusual type of UTI and the dr is being careful. It was nothing to worry about in our case.

I wondered if it was something like that-esp with them changing the ABs

I could have written exactly this about my daughter. Took hero gp with a uti, got antibiotics. Great, sorted. Nope. Wrong antibiotic & you're off to see a paediatrician paediatrician discussed investigations & said local guidance is a scan & a more invasive test on the first uti but national guidance is after the third. We compromised & she had the scan, I said if there's another infection or scan is abnormal, she could have the invasive test. Scan was fine & no more infections. It is just to check anatomy & possible damage/scarring. They made her fill her bladder, scan, empty bladder, RE-scan to check it was empty. They also told me she has ovaries & a uterus. I hadn't thought about those before!