A study of the prevalence of various lower urinary tract symptoms in children with analysis of comorbidities and uroflowmetry

Abstract

Background: The International Children’s Continence Society (ICCS) in its standardization article in 2006 and subsequent revision in 2014 have provided guidelines for the diagnosis and management of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in children. However, the terminologies are still not in common parlance and colloquial terms are being heavily used in India. Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate the clinical spectrum of LUTS and their comorbidities in children. Materials and Methods: This was an observational cross-sectional study conducted in a tertiary care hospital in Northern India. Children, included in the study, aged 5–12 years who presented with LUTS as defined in the ICCS 2014 updated guidelines. A simultaneous analysis of uroflowmetry graphs was also done in these children and the observations presented in this paper. Results: Enuresis was the most common LUTS with which children presented to the OPD (78% cases) followed by increased frequency of micturition (42%). Among comorbidities, constipation was present in one-third patients of LUTS. Uroflowmetry done in LUTS often yields a normal “bell-shaped” graph in majority of the patients (71%). The study shows that many enuretics have underlying other LUTS and comorbidities that we should be aware of and uroflowmetry, if not coupled with urodynamic studies, is not a game changer. Conclusion: There are not many studies post the standardization of the ICCS conducted in India and this study aims at increasing the awareness of the same among physicians and researchers alike.