Follow-up of the neuro-urological patient: a systematic review

To systematically review the long-term urological follow-up strategies for patients with neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction (NLUTD), focusing on three main groups of neurological diseases: (i) spinal cord injuries, (ii) spinal dysraphism, and (iii) multiple sclerosis.

Data acquisition comprised electronic search on the Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE) database and the EMBASE database in August 2014 to retrieve English language studies. MEDLINE and EMBASE search included the following medical subject heading (MeSH) terms: (i) neurogenic bladder and (ii) neurogenic bladder dysfunction. Each of these terms was crossed with (i) long-term care and (ii) long-term surveillance. Only studies related to NLUTD and urological follow-up were included. Studies were also identified by hand search of reference lists and review articles.

Initial records identified through database searching included 265 articles. In all, 23 articles were included in the quantitative synthesis. The proposed time schedule of investigations as well as the amount and type of investigation were different according to specific neurological lesions. They depend on the dysfunctional pattern of the lower urinary tract (LUT) and its risk profile. However, there is a lack of high-evidence level studies to support an optimal long-term follow-up protocol.

The goal of neuro-urological management is the best possible preservation of upper urinary tract (UUT) and LUT function in relation to the individual neurological disorder. Regular and risk adapted controls ('urochecks') allow detection of risk-factors in time before irreversible changes of the LUT and UUT have occurred. With risk- and patient-oriented lifelong regular urological care an optimised quality of life and life-expectancy can be achieved, although there is a complete lack of high-evidence level studies on this topic.