Voiding camp: A successful and unique bladder rehabilitation program for children with urinary incontinence

Abstract

Standard urotherapy is a well-established treatment for children with incontinence, although it is often challenging for both child and parents, and not always successful. As an alternative, several in- and outpatient bladder training programs have shown positive results on achieving continence. However, the disadvantage is the hospital environment, which can be more stressful for the child, and also quite expensive for society. The aim was to evaluate the outcome on achieving continence following a voiding camp, where standard urotherapy was applied during a one-week stay at a regular summer youth camp, outside the hospital. Retrospective analysis of 105 children with urinary incontinence, followed in an expert centre for urinary incontinence for at least one year. Data at 7 different time points, before, during and until 6 months after voiding camp were collected. Even though all children had regular follow-up in an expert centre for urinary incontinence for at least one year before participating voiding camp, only 15% of the children reached the recommended amount of daily fluid intake (1.5L/day). Once minimal daily fluid intake was re-established during the voiding camp, an immediate increase in the maximum voided volume (MVV), and a decrease in the number of wet days and wet nights per week was noted. This effect on a higher MVV remained even 3 months after voiding camp. Although sufficient daily fluid intake is a well-established part of standard urotherapy, up until now there was no data that proved the positive impact of sufficient daily fluid intake on bladder volume training and achieving continence in children. Voiding camp, as an unique bladder rehabilitation program for children with incontinence, is a successful alternative treatment option. Optimizing the daily fluid intake during voiding camp had a major positive impact on bladder volume training and achieving continence in children.