Comprehensive management of dysfunctional voiding.

OBJECTIVE: Dysfunctional voiding is a major problem leading to daytime-wetting and recurrent urinary tract infection (UTI). Our center is devoted to treating children with dysfunctional voiding. We offer a multidisciplinary approach with a pediatric nephrologist, nurse practitioners, and a psychologist. This article is the first to describe the efficacy of this approach on a large population of American children.

PATIENTS: Between 1992 and 1995, 366 children with symptoms of voiding dysfunction were referred for urodynamic studies. Criteria were based on the child's age, symptoms, and failure to respond to empirical therapy. Females made up 77% of the population, and the mean age at referral was 8.5 years (range, 4 to 18 years). Day-wetting occurred in 312 (89%), night-wetting in 278 (79%), recurrent UTI in 218 (60%), and vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) in 48 (20%) of those undergoing voiding cystourethrography.

RESULTS: A minimum of 6 months' follow-up data (mean, 22 months) is available on 280 children (77% studied). Urge syndrome was the predominant urodynamic finding in 52%, followed by bladder sphincter dysfunction in 25%. Treatment consisted of antibiotic prophylaxis (59%), anticholinergic medication (49%), biofeedback (25%), and psychological counseling (15%). Of the 222 children with daytime-wetting (45%), 100 are cured (off all medication, no wetting) and 82 (37%) are improved (on medication or >50% reduction in symptoms). Improvement or cure was seen in 69% of children with night-wetting. Of the 199 children with UTI, 127 (64%) never developed another infection. Vesicoureteral reflux resolved in 16 of 30 (53%) children undergoing repeat voiding cystourethrography.

CONCLUSION: Our comprehensive approach demonstrates a favorable outcome that promises to reduce the medical and psychological morbidity seen in patients with voiding dysfunction.