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Voiding camp: A successful and unique bladder rehabilitation program for children with urinary incontinence
L Dossche1, E Veys2, C Renson3
1Department of Pediatric Nephrology, Ghent University Hospital, C. Heymanslaan 10, 9000 Gent, Belgium; Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Internal Medicine & Pediatrics, Ghent University, Belgium.
Insights
A novel voiding camp successfully improved continence in children with urinary incontinence by optimizing daily fluid intake. This approach enhanced bladder volume training and led to sustained positive outcomes, offering a stress-free alternative to traditional methods.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Urology
- Behavioral Therapy
- Bladder Rehabilitation
Background:
- Standard urotherapy for childhood incontinence presents challenges and variable success rates.
- Existing bladder training programs often involve stressful hospital environments and high societal costs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the effectiveness of a voiding camp, utilizing standard urotherapy in a non-hospital setting, for achieving continence in children.
- To evaluate the impact of optimized fluid intake within a camp environment on bladder training outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 105 children with urinary incontinence treated at an expert center.
- Data collection across seven time points, including before, during, and up to six months post-voiding camp.
Main Results:
- Prior to the camp, only 15% of children met recommended daily fluid intake (1.5 L/day).
- Re-establishing adequate fluid intake during the camp led to immediate increases in maximum voided volume (MVV).
- A significant reduction in wet days and nights was observed, with improved MVV persisting for three months post-camp.
Conclusions:
- This study provides the first data demonstrating the positive impact of sufficient daily fluid intake on bladder volume training and continence in children.
- The voiding camp model offers a successful, less stressful, and potentially more cost-effective alternative for pediatric incontinence management.
- Optimizing fluid intake is a key factor in the success of this unique bladder rehabilitation program.
Introduction & Background:
Standard urotherapy is a well-established treatment for children with incontinence, although it is often challenging for both child and parents, and not always successful. As an alternative, several in- and outpatient bladder training programs have shown positive results on achieving continence. However, the disadvantage is the hospital environment, which can be more stressful for the child, and also quite expensive for society.
Objective:
The aim was to evaluate the outcome on achieving continence following a voiding camp, where standard urotherapy was applied during a one-week stay at a regular summer youth camp, outside the hospital.
Study Design:
Retrospective analysis of 105 children with urinary incontinence, followed in an expert centre for urinary incontinence for at least one year. Data at 7 different time points, before, during and until 6 months after voiding camp were collected.
Results:
Even though all children had regular follow-up in an expert centre for urinary incontinence for at least one year before participating voiding camp, only 15% of the children reached the recommended amount of daily fluid intake (1.5 L/day). Once minimal daily fluid intake was re-established during the voiding camp, an immediate increase in the maximum voided volume (MVV), and a decrease in the number of wet days and wet nights per week was noted. This effect on a higher MVV remained even 3 months after voiding camp.
Discussion:
Although sufficient daily fluid intake is a well-established part of standard urotherapy, up until now there was no data that proved the positive impact of sufficient daily fluid intake on bladder volume training and achieving continence in children.
Conclusion:
Voiding camp, as an unique bladder rehabilitation program for children with incontinence, is a successful alternative treatment option. Optimizing the daily fluid intake during voiding camp had a major positive impact on bladder volume training and achieving continence in children.
