[Congenital lower urinary tract obstruction and enuresis in children]

We reviewed enuretic children among patients with congenital lower urinary tract obstructions experienced in the Department of Urology, Hyogo College of Medicine during 16 years from 1974 to 1989. Among 612 patients with congenital lower urinary tract obstructions, 139 (22.7%) had enuresis nocturna and/or diurna. The incidence of enuresis was 24.7% with posterior urethral valve (77 cases), 50.0% with anterior urethral valve (6 cases), 23.8% with congenital bulbar urethral stenosis in boys (303 cases) and 19.9% with congenital distal urethral stenosis in girls (226 cases). Diurnal enuresis was more common in enuresis associated with congenital lower urinary tract obstructions than in usual enuresis. In urodynamic examinations, more than half of enuretic children with congenital lower urinary obstructions showed hyperactive detrusor activity. Treatment of congenital lower urinary tract obstructions through operation resulted in cure or amelioration of enuresis in about 80% of the patients. Enuresis associated with lower urinary tract obstruction or neurogenic bladder is sometimes called complicated enuresis and it is an important role of a urologist to differentiate complicated enuresis from simple enuresis.