eMedicine Specialties > Pediatrics: Surgery > Urology

Voiding Dysfunction: Follow-up

Author: Christopher S Cooper, MD, FACS, FAAP, Associate Professor of Urology, Director of Pediatric Urology, University of Iowa, Children's Hospital of Iowa; Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Curriculum, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine
Coauthor(s): Kenneth G Nepple, MD, Resident Physician, Department of Urology, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics; Stanley Hellerstein, MD, Pediatric Nephrologist, Children's Mercy Hospital of Kansas City; Ernest L Glasscock, MD Chair in Pediatric Research, Professor of Pediatrics, University of Missouri School of Medicine at Kansas City
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Jun 24, 2008

Follow-up

Further Outpatient Care

  • Ongoing follow-up is usually needed to monitor progress.
  • Parents and children should pay attention to maintenance of the recommended voiding interventions and to bowel function with regard to constipation.

Complications

  • Persistence of daytime wetting may markedly disrupt the social lives of older children. Daytime wetting can negatively affect self-esteem and is a major stressor in school-age children. One study of 2000 children reported that wetting in school ranked behind only parental death and going blind as potential perceived stressful events.
  • Skin irritation and rashes may result from chronic wetness. Children should be monitored for skin breakdown.
  • Detrusor instability with pelvic withholding maneuvers may foster recurrent UTIs or persistence of VUR. One study reported recurrent UTIs were identified in as many as 60% of children with voiding dysfunction. In one study of children with VUR, as many as 43% had voiding dysfunction, and VUR has been identified on video-urodynamics in 16-20% of children with voiding dysfunction. The time to reflux resolution was 1.6 years longer in children with dysfunctional elimination syndrome in one study.
  • In rare cases, this results in dilatation of the upper urinary tract (hydronephrosis) and kidney damage.

Prognosis

  • The prognosis for complete or partial resolution of a functional voiding disorder is excellent for children with daytime urinary incontinence and detrusor instability. The spontaneous resolution rate has been estimated to be 14% per year.
  • Children with voiding dysfunction appear to be more likely to have adult overactive bladder or voiding dysfunction. One study reported that childhood incontinence in girls was a risk factor for urge symptoms and severe incontinence as middle-aged women.15
  • The prognosis is good for children with giggle incontinence, who tend to outgrow it during adolescence, and for those with underactive bladder syndrome, who respond to intervention.
  • The prognosis is guarded for those few children with dysfunctional voiding whose condition does not respond to intervention.

Patient Education

 


More on Voiding Dysfunction

Overview: Voiding Dysfunction
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Voiding Dysfunction
Treatment & Medication: Voiding Dysfunction
Follow-up: Voiding Dysfunction
References
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References

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Further Reading

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Keywords

voiding dysfunction, overactive bladder, OAB, detrusor instability, functional voiding disorder, infantile bladder, nonneurogenic neurogenic bladder, non-neurogenic neurogenic bladder, occult neuropathic bladder, unstable urinary bladder, urge incontinence, urge syndrome, Hinman-Allen syndrome, underactive bladder, urinary tract infection, UTI, urethral irritation, urinary dribbling, dysfunctional voiding, urethritis, myelodysplasia, detrusor hyperreflexia, constipation, encopresis, giggle incontinence, detrusor sphincter dyssynergia, vesicoureteral reflux, VUR, hydronephrosis, meatal stenosis, sexual abuse

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Christopher S Cooper, MD, FACS, FAAP, Associate Professor of Urology, Director of Pediatric Urology, University of Iowa, Children's Hospital of Iowa; Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Curriculum, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine
Christopher S Cooper, MD, FACS, FAAP is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Surgeons, American Medical Association, American Urological Association, International Children's Continence Society, Phi Beta Kappa, Society for Basic Urologic Research, Society for Fetal Urology, and Society for Pediatric Urology
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Kenneth G Nepple, MD, Resident Physician, Department of Urology, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
Kenneth G Nepple, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha and American Urological Association
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Stanley Hellerstein, MD, Pediatric Nephrologist, Children's Mercy Hospital of Kansas City; Ernest L Glasscock, MD Chair in Pediatric Research, Professor of Pediatrics, University of Missouri School of Medicine at Kansas City
Stanley Hellerstein, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics, American Pediatric Society, and American Society of Pediatric Nephrology
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

Bartley G Cilento, Jr, MD, Instructor, Department of Surgery, Division of Urology, Children's Hospital of Boston and Harvard Medical School
Bartley G Cilento, Jr, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics, American Urological Association, and Massachusetts Medical Society
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Mary L Windle, PharmD, Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy, Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine.com, Inc
Disclosure: Pfizer Inc Stock Investment from broker recommendation; Avanir Pharma Stock Investment from broker recommendation

Managing Editor

Harry P Koo, MD, Chairman of Urology Division and Director of Pediatric Urology, Virginia Commonwealth University; Professor of Surgery, VCU School of Medicine, Medical College of Virginia; Director of Urology, Children's Hospital of Richmond
Harry P Koo, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Surgeons, and American Urological Association
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

CME Editor

Daniel Rauch, MD, FAAP, Director, Pediatric Hospitalist Program, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, New York University School of Medicine
Daniel Rauch, MD, FAAP is a member of the following medical societies: Ambulatory Pediatric Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, and Society of Hospital Medicine
Disclosure: Baxter Honoraria Consulting; Pfizer Honoraria Consulting

Chief Editor

Marc Cendron, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery, Harvard School of Medicine; Consulting Staff, Department of Urological Surgery, Children's Hospital Boston
Marc Cendron, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics, American Urological Association, European Society for Paediatric Urology, Johns Hopkins Medical and Surgical Association, New Hampshire Medical Society, Society for Fetal Urology, and Society for Pediatric Urology
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

 
 
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