How Valuable is Uroflowmetry in Children with Enuresis Nocturna?

Abstract

Abstract Objective: Enuresis nocturna is an important social and psychological problem in children. Uroflowmetry (UF) is a noninvasive urodynamic test that is performed in daily clinical practice to evaluate urinary function. In UF evaluation, urine amount, urination time, latency time, maximum urine flow rate access time, maximum urine flow rate, and mean urine flow rate are evaluated. The objective of the study was to evaluate the UF results of children with primary nocturnal enuresis (PNE). Materials and Methods: The UF findings of healthy and visualized children without any urinary symptoms and who were prospectively admitted to the urology and pediatric surgery outpatient clinic with the complaint of PNE were compared. Information and UF results of PNE and healthy children included in the study were recorded. In this research, we compared the clinical characteristics and features of bladder assessment: UF, postvoid residuals, and bladder wall thickness between boys and girls with PNE and the clinical characteristics and bladder assessment between children with primary and secondary PNE. Results: A total of 183 children, comprised 103 potty-trained children with PNE and 80 potty-trained healthy children were included in the study. There were 60 children in the PNE group and 62 children in the control group. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of age. When the UF findings of both groups were compared, it was found that only maximum flow was higher in the children with PNE. In other parameters, there was no difference between the two groups. The Qmax in the group with PNE and the control group was found to be 20.48 ± 6.57 ml/s and 17.22 ± 6.17 ml/s, respectively (P = 0.001). Conclusions: The present study reveals that there is no difference between patients with enuresis nocturna and healthy individuals in terms of UF. Therefore, UF is not recommended for use in differential PNE diagnosis.