Daytime bladder dysfunction in therapy-resistant nocturnal enuresis. A pilot study in urotherapy.

Abstract

Bedwetting is the most common form of incontinence in children. Research in recent years suggests that there can be many different factors responsible for the problem of bed wetting, one of which is bladder dysfunction. The aim of this pilot study was to identify infrequent voiding ("hold pattern") and to investigate whether increasing the number of micturitions during the day can improve the nocturnal enuresis in children with several failed treatment attempts. Twenty-two children with severe bedwetting were treated. Twelve of them had had no other treatment than increasing the number of regular micturitions during the day, while 10 patients had had enuresis alarm or desmopressin added. The number of wet nights after 1 month of treatment decreased in all children and the improvement continued in most of the children during the follow-up period. This study suggests that bladder training by increasing the number of micturitions during the day can be valuable in the treatment of nocturnal enuresis.