'Frequently recurring' nocturnal polyuria is predictive of response to desmopressin in monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis in childhood

From Clinical Scenarios to the Management of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms in Children: A Focus for the General Pediatrician

Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are a relevant problem in the pediatric population, having a very high prevalence. Diurnal incontinence and nocturnal enuresis are surely the most frequent symptoms, presenting, respectively, in up to 30% of school-age children and up to 10% of children between 6 and 7 years. Stypsis is the most common comorbidity, and it must be considered in the management of LUTS; indeed, the treatment of constipation is curative in most cases for both incontinence and enuresis. The presence or absence of diurnal symptoms in nocturnal enuresis and urgency in diurnal incontinence helps in the differential diagnosis. Urotherapy is always the first-line treatment, while oxybutynin and desmopressin (where appropriate) may help if the first-line treatment is unsuccessful. It is essential to identify conditions that are potentially dangerous for kidney and urinary tract well-being, for which LUTS can be the first manifestation. Starting from a series of clinical scenarios, we will underline the diagnostic clues behind LUTS in children and we will summarize clinical and surgical approaches for the proper management of these conditions.

Combination therapy (desmopressin plus oxybutynin) improves the response rate compared with desmopressin alone in patients with monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis and nocturnal polyuria and absence of constipation predict the response to this treatment

Combination therapy (CT) (desmopressin plus oxybutynin) has been considered for the treatment of monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (MNE). We designed our study with the aim to evaluate the response rate to CT compared with desmopressin alone (primary outcome) and to identify factors associated with the response to CT (secondary outcome). We prospectively enrolled children with MNE with absent/partial response after 3 months of evening treatment with 240 mcg of desmopressin. We defined the response rate to CT compared with desmopressin alone according to the standardization of terminology document of the International Children's Continence Society: no-response, < 50% reduction; partial response, 50 to 99% reduction; and complete response, 100% reduction of wet nights. Both partial response and complete response to CT were clustered for the analyses of this manuscript. The enrolled children treated with 240 mcg/evening of desmopressin had also an additional evening administration of 0.3 mg/kg oxybutynin. A follow-up was scheduled at 3 and 6 months after the beginning of CT. At 3 months, oxybutynin dose was augmented to 0.5 mg/kg in case of absent/partial response to CT. Nocturnal diuresis was measured in 5 wet nights prior the beginning of therapy with desmopressin. Nocturnal polyuria (NP) was defined as nocturnal urine production > 130% of the expected bladder capacity. All patients with constipation were treated with macrogol. We enrolled 81 children (35.8% females) with a mean age of 8.4 ± 2.3 years. Seventy-eight patients completed the follow-up. After the CT, 59/78 (75.6%) patients showed an improvement of the response with CT compared with desmopressin alone. At multivariate analysis, both NP in more than 1 night (OR = 8.5; 95% CI, 1.4-51.6; p = 0.02) and absence of constipation (OR = 7.1; 95% CI, 1.6-31.0; p = 0.009) resulted significant after Bonferroni correction.

CONCLUSIONS

CT determines an improvement of response compared to therapy with desmopressin alone in 75.6% of patients. Significant predictive factors of response to CT were presence of NP and absence of constipation.

WHAT IS KNOWN

• Combination therapy (CT) (desmopressin plus anticholinergic drug) has been described as a therapeutic option for patients with monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (MNE) not responding to desmopressin alone as first-line treatment. • Variable protocols and variable combination of drugs have been described with a response rate ranging from 44 to 76%.

WHAT IS NEW

• We found that 59 patients (75.6%) treated with evening administration of 240 mcg of sublingual desmopressin plus 0.3-0.5 mg/kg of oxybutynin had an improvement of response compared to treatment with desmopressin alone. • We add evidence that presence of frequently recurring nocturnal polyuria and absence of constipation are predictors of response to CT.

Impact of New vs. Old International Children's Continence Society Standardization on the Classification of Treatment Naïve Enuresis Children at Screening: The Value of Voiding Diaries and Questionnaires

Expert consensus papers recommend differentiating enuresis using questionnaires and voiding diaries into non- (NMNE) and monosymptomatic enuresis (MNE) is crucial at intake to decide the most appropriate workout and treatment. This national, Belgian, prospective study investigates the correlation, consistency, and added value of the two methods, the new against the old International Children's Continence Society (ICCS) definitions, and documents the prevalence of the two enuresis subtypes in our population. Ninety treatment-naïve enuretic children were evaluated with the questionnaire, and the voiding diary and the two clinical management tools were compared. Almost 30% of the children had a different diagnosis with each method, and we observed inconsistencies between them in registering Lower Tract Symptoms (κ = -0.057-0.432 depending on the symptom). Both methods had a high correlation in identifying MNE (rs = 0.612, p = 0.001) but not for NMNE (rs = 0.127, p = 0.248). According to the latest ICCS definitions, the incidence of MNE was significantly lower (7 vs. 48%) with the old standardization.

Conclusion

The voiding diary and the questionnaire, as recommended by the ICCS at the screening of treatment-naïve enuretic patients, are considerably inconsistent and have significantly different sensitivities in identifying LUTS and thus differentiating MNE from NMNE. However, the high incidence of LUTS and very low prevalence of MNE suggest that differentiating MNE from NMNE to the maximum might not always correlate with different therapy responses.

Problems with enuresis management-A personal view

Much has happened since the end of the era when enuresis was blamed on the parents or the children themselves. Still, there are large gaps in our knowledge and large parts of modern enuresis management guidelines are (still) not based on firm evidence. In this review I will question the following commonly made assumptions regarding enuresis evaluation and treatment: •It is important to subdivide enuresis according to the presence of daytime symptoms•Voiding charts are crucial in the primary evaluation of the enuretic child•All children with enuresis need to be screened for behavioral or psychiatric issues•Concomittant daytime incontinence needs to be successfully treated before addressing the enuresis•Concomittant constipation needs to be successfully treated before addressing the enuresis•Urotherapy is a first-line treatment against enuresis In this review I will argue that much of what we do with these children is based more on experience and well-meant but poorly supported assumptions than on evidence. Some advice and therapies are probably ineffective whereas for other treatments we lack reliable predictors of treatment response. More research is obviously needed, but awaiting new results enuresis management could be substantially simplified.

Evaluating nocturnal polyuria in Japanese children with nocturnal enuresis

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to assess whether enuretic Japanese patients with nocturnal polyuria (NP) who met Hoashi's criteria (6-9 years: ≥200 mL; 10 years and older: ≥250 mL) met the International Children's Continence Society (ICCS; expected bladder capacity × 130%) and Rittig's criteria for nocturnal polyuria (>[age+9] × 20 mL). We also compared the effectiveness of 1-desamino-8-d-arginine vasopressin (DDAVP) with the three criteria.

METHODS

Fifty-four patients who had NP with normal bladder capacity were enrolled: 36 boys (67%); median age, 8 (interquartile range: 7-9). We compared the diagnostic differences between the Hoashi's criteria and international standards (ICCS and Rittig's) for NP and the short-term effects of DDAVP. The patients received DDAVP for 8 weeks; we evaluated the association between each evaluation method and the effects of therapy.

RESULTS

Only 17% of the patients met both Hoashi's and ICCS criteria, whereas 26% met both Hoashi's and Rittig's criteria. The therapeutic effect of DDAVP did not differ significantly between these two groups: there was an effective rate of 73% (Hoashi's criteria) versus 50% (ICCS criteria), P = 0.19, and an effective rate of 71% (Hoashi's criteria) versus 62% (Rittig's criteria), P = 0.84.

CONCLUSIONS

Hoashi's criteria are widely used but, according to both the ICCS and Rittig's criteria, approximately 80% of the patients did not fulfill the definition of NP. However, 8 weeks after the DDAVP treatment began, no significant difference was observed in the therapeutic effect of DDAVP according to each set of criteria. The definition of NP should account for the physical disparities between Japanese people and Westerners.

Desmopressin response in nocturnal enuresis without nocturnal polyuria in Japanese children

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate whether the efficacy of desmopressin differs between patients with and without nocturnal polyuria.

METHODS

A total of 65 treatment-naïve children with monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis were enrolled (45 boys; median age 8.9 years). Patients received desmopressin as their first-line treatment. Four different standards were used (Akashi and Hoashi >0.9 mL/kg/sleeping hour; Hamano >[age + 2] × 25 × 130% mL; the International Children's Continence Society >[age + 1] × 30 × 130% mL; and Rittig >[age + 9] × 20 mL) to assess nocturnal polyuria. The effectiveness of desmopressin was compared between patients with and without nocturnal polyuria according to each standard. A response was defined as a reduction in wet nights of >50%.

RESULTS

The desmopressin treatment efficacy rate was 54% for polyuria and 67% for non-polyuria patients (P = 0.20), 45% for polyuria and 68% for non-polyuria patients (P = 0.08), 54% for polyuria and 59% for non-polyuria patients (P = 0.80), and 52% for polyuria and 61% for non-polyuria patients (P = 0.61), for the Akashi and Hoashi's, Hamano's, International Children's Continence Society and Rittig's standards, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

No difference was observed in the short-term clinical efficacy of desmopressin regardless of the presence of nocturnal polyuria. Thus, this might be a feasible treatment option for patients with nocturnal enuresis without nocturnal polyuria.

Does smoking exposure affect response to treatment in children with primary monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis?

BACKGROUND

There are many variables affecting the success of treatment in children with primary monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (PMNE). This study investigates the possible effect of cigarette smoke exposure on desmopressin treatment response in children with PMNE.

METHOD

The medical records of pediatric patients with PMNE between February 2018 and December 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Those who had moderate (3-5 wet nights/week) and severe (>5 wet nights/week) PMNE were included in the study. All patients received 120 mcg of sublingual desmopressin. After 3 months of therapy, treatment response was classified as complete response (100% dry night), partial response (between 50% and 99%) and non-responsiveness (<49% improvement). Partial response or non-responsiveness is considered as treatment failure. The relationship between treatment response to desmopressin and exposure to cigarette smoke was evaluated. Moreover, the other risk factors for treatment failure were investigated.

RESULTS

A total of 81 children with the diagnosis of PMNE, with a mean age of 9.98 ± 2.62 years, were included in the study. The frequency of passive smoke exposure at home was 53.1%. Sixty-two patients (76.5%) had severe PMNE, and the response to desmopressin decreased with severity of symptoms. Non-responsiveness to treatment, partial response, and complete response were observed in 11 (13.6%), 23 (28.4%), and 47 (58.0%) of patients, respectively. Treatment failure (n = 34, 42%) was 55.8% in children exposed to smoke and 26.4% in those who were not (p = 0.001). Although univariate analysis revealed that the severity of symptoms and smoke exposure were associated with treatment failure, in multivariate analysis, the presence of smoke exposure was the only independent risk factor (OR = 3.214, 95% CI: 0.125-0.888; p = 0.024) (Summary Table 1).

CONCLUSION

Exposure to cigarette smoke is a changeable and important risk factor that reduces the success of desmopressin treatment in children with PMNE.

Nocturnal enuresis: an update on management

Topics for DTB review articles are selected by DTB's editorial board to provide concise overviews of medicines and other treatments to help patients get the best care. Articles include a summary of key points and a brief overview for patients. Articles may also have a series of multiple choice CME questions.

Exploration of the Optimal Desmopressin Treatment in Children With Monosymptomatic Nocturnal Enuresis: Evidence From a Chinese Cohort

Objectives: Nocturnal enuresis (NE) is a common pediatric condition, and desmopressin (dDAVP) is a first-line therapy for NE. The standard initial dosage of dDAVP is 0. 2 mg/day, and most guidelines recommend that the dose should be increased at 0.2 mg increments until dryness is achieved or to the maximal recommended dose. However, previous evidence has shown that this strategy seems insufficient to further improve efficacy and results in unnecessarily high doses for some patients. Our study aimed to assess the efficacy of our modified dDAVP treatment regimen in children with MNE in China and evaluate predictive factors associated with the dDAVP response. Methods: All MNE patients at the Department of Nephrology at Children's Hospital of Fudan University from January to December 2019 were prospectively and consecutively enrolled. dDAVP treatment comprised a dose titration period and a 3-month maintenance period. The efficacy of dDAVP was assessed according to the latest International Children's Continence Society criteria at the end of the study. Predictive factors were evaluated by logistic regression analysis. Results: Overall, 322 MNE patients were enrolled in our study, and 225 (69.9%) completed the study. The intention to treat analysis showed that the overall dDAVP response rate was 69.9%: among these patients 32.3% were complete responders, and 37.6% were partial responders. At the end of the study, 194/225 (86.2%) patients received a final dose of 0.2 mg, 24/225 (10.7%) patients received a final dose of 0.3 mg, and 7/225 (3.1%) patients received a final dose of 0.4 mg. Multivariate analysis showed that patients requiring lower doses to achieve responses were significantly more likely to experience complete response during the maintenance period [odds ratio (OR)=9.683; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.770-33.846]. Conclusions: Our results indicate that the dDAVP treatment regimen provides a comparable efficacy to the international conventional treatment regimen with a lower overall dose. Low-dose responders were likely to achieve a complete response without increasing the dose; in these cases, the maximum dose might not be necessary.