Nephrology
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Acute pyelonephritis is a common infectious disease in children and can result in permanent renal damage. Interleukin (IL)-1beta is an important inflammatory mediator that appears early during bacterial infection. This prospective study examined urine IL-1beta levels in children with acute pyelonephritis documented by (99m)Tc-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) scan, and also evaluated whether this cytokine correlated with renal scarring. ⋯ These results have shown that urine IL-1beta level may serve as a useful marker for the early detection of acute pyelonephritis in febrile children. Young children are at a risk of the development of renal scarring following acute pyelonephritis.