[Urinary incontinence in children: etiopathogenesis and clinical aspects]

Urinary incontinence can only be considered a disease after a child has completely acquired spinal mechanisms of vesico-sphincteric nervous control. This normally happens for the majority of children between two and two-and-a-half years of age regarding voluntary daytime control, while complete night-time control is obtained in 90% of cases within the fourth year. By urinary incontinence we mean an involuntary leak of urine through the bladder neck. This can vary from an occasional leakage consisting of a few drops to a continuous and uncontrollable stream of urine. From 1981 to 1986 we evaluated, in the Pediatric Urological Service at Bambino Gesù Hospital, Rome, 426 children suffering from urinary incontinence. According to the etiology we divided the patients into two large groups: 1) patients with incontinence due to anatomic causes 56 (13%); 2) patients with incontinence due to dysfunctional causes 370 (87%).