Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Mar 10;8(3):209.
doi: 10.3390/children8030209.

Patient-Reported Outcomes of Bladder and Bowel Control in Children with Spina Bifida

Helen Träff  1 , Anna Börjesson  1 , Martin Salö  1
Affiliations

Patient-Reported Outcomes of Bladder and Bowel Control in Children with Spina Bifida

Helen Träff et al. Children (Basel). .

Abstract

Background: The primary aim was to describe patient-reported morbidity from neurogenic bladder and bowel dysfunction in a cohort of children with spina bifida. The secondary aim was to describe the overall surgical burden in these children.

Methods: Children with meningocele or myelomeningocele, born between 2000-2016, and followed by a tertiary spina bifida center were evaluated in a cross-sectional cohort study using data from charts and a prospective national follow-up program.

Results: In the group of 62 patients, clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) was used by 47 (76%) of the patients, and anticholinergic treatment was used by 36 (58%). More than one third of the patients reported inadequate results with daily urinary leakage. Laxatives and enema were used regularly by 45 (73%) and 39 (63%) patients, respectively. Inadequate results were reported by seven (11%) patients. One or more urogenital or gastrointestinal operations had been performed in 26 (42%) patients, with a total of 109 procedures overall.

Conclusions: Despite substantial bowel and bladder management, a significant portion of children suffered from inadequate results concerning bladder and bowel control. Many surgeries were performed in a defined group of the children. Prospective, long-term studies can evaluate if more aggressive medical and/or surgical management could increase bowel and bladder control.

Keywords: bowel management; neurogenic bladder; outcome; spina bifida; surgery.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Atta C.A.M., Fiest K.M., Frolkis A.D., Jette N., Pringsheim T., Germaine-Smith C.S., Rajapakse T., Kaplan G.G., Metcalfe A. Global Birth Prevalence of Spina Bifida by Folic Acid Fortification Status: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Am. J. Public Health. 2016;106:e24–e34. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2015.302902. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brochard C., Peyronnet B., Dariel A., Ménard H., Manunta A., Ropert A., Neunlist M., Bouguen G., Siproudhis L. Bowel Dysfunction Related to Spina Bifida: Keep It Simple. Dis. Colon Rectum. 2017;60:1209–1214. doi: 10.1097/DCR.0000000000000892. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Müller T., Arbeiter K., Aufricht C. Renal function in meningomyelocele: Risk factors, chronic renal failure, renal replacement therapy and transplantation. Curr. Opin. Urol. 2002;12:479–484. doi: 10.1097/00042307-200211000-00006. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Snow-Lisy D.C., Yerkes E.B., Cheng E.Y. Update on Urological Management of Spina Bifida from Prenatal Diagnosis to Adulthood. J. Urol. 2015;194:288–296. doi: 10.1016/j.juro.2015.03.107. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Oakeshott P., Hunt G.M., Poulton A., Reid F. Expectation of life and unexpected death in open spina bifida: A 40-year complete, non-selective, longitudinal cohort study. Dev. Med. Child Neurol. 2009;52:749–753. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8749.2009.03543.x. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources