High daily salt intake had a negative impact on how well nocturnal enuresis treatment worked on children aged 7-10 years

Management of treatment-resistant nocturnal enuresis

Nocturnal enuresis is defined as intermittent urinary incontinence during sleep in children 5 years of age and older, occurring at least once a month for at least 3 months. In Japan, pediatricians who do not specialize in nocturnal enuresis have become more proactive in treating the condition since 2016, when the guidelines for treating it were revised for the first time in 12 years. For monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis, the first step is lifestyle guidance, with a focus on the restriction of fluid intake at night; however, if lifestyle guidance does not decrease the frequency of nocturnal enuresis, aggressive treatment should be added. The first choice of aggressive treatment is oral desmopressin, an antidiuretic hormone preparation, or alarm therapy. However, there remain patients whose wet nights do not decrease with oral desmopressin or alarm therapy. In such cases, it is necessary to reconfirm the method of desmopressin administration and check for factors that may decrease the efficacy of desmopressin. If alarm therapy does not increase the number of dry nights, it is possible that the patient is fundamentally unsuitable for alarm therapy. If dry nights do not increase with oral desmopressin or alarm therapy, the next treatment strategy should be considered immediately to keep the patient motivated for treatment.

Desmopressin response in nocturnal enuresis showing concentrated urine

BACKGROUND

In Japan, the use of desmopressin (1-desamino-8-D-arginine vasopressin) is only recommended for nocturnal enuresis with unconcentrated first morning urine, which suggests a relative deficiency of antidiuretic hormone secretion during sleep. However, no such limitations have been described in a standardization document of the International Children's Continence Society. We aimed to determine whether desmopressin treatment induces any response in nocturnal enuresis with concentrated first morning urine.

METHODS

Outpatients aged 6-15 years who exhibited monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis were examined. Data were obtained from 41 treatment-naive patients (median age 9.7 years) with nocturnal enuresis, who received desmopressin as their first line of treatment. The patients were divided into two groups demonstrating unconcentrated (osmolality < 800 mOsm/L, Low-Osm group) and concentrated (osmolality ≥ 800 mOsm/L, High-Osm group) first morning urine, respectively; we compared the response to desmopressin treatment between the groups at 1 month after the administration or updosing of desmopressin; responses were defined as partial or complete according to the International Children's Continence Society standards. Mann-Whitney U-tests or Fisher's exact tests were used for analysis.

RESULTS

The Low-Osm (median age 9.6 years) and High-Osm groups (median age 9.7 years) had 14 and 27 patients, respectively; the response rates to desmopressin treatment were 64.3% and 59.2%, respectively, indicating no significant differences (P = 0.99).

CONCLUSION

Desmopressin treatment may be a feasible option for treating nocturnal enuresis with concentrated first morning urine.