Hypospadias prevalence by severity and associated risk factors: A population-based active surveillance analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Hypospadias is one of the most common congenital anomalies. Trends of hypospadias prevalence by severity are not well reported. Most prevalence studies consist of pooled data from different countries or states suffer from low data quality due to inconsistent methodologies, limited variables, and lack of categorization of hypospadias severity. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to examine the prevalence of hypospadias by degrees of severity and associated risk factors using combined data sources from a stable and well-defined population. STUDY DESIGN: The study population includes infants born with hypospadias to mothers residing in Arkansas from 1997 to 2016. Cases were identified from an active population-based surveillance program of birth defects. Identified hypospadias cases from surveillance data were linked to birth certificate and to a clinical database. These two data sources provide more details on the location of the defect and maternal and infant characteristics. The prevalence and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using total male live births as denominator. Chi-square test was used to assess the association of nominal variables. Logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted odds ratio. RESULTS: A total 3230 hypospadias cases were identified from 1997 to 2016. The overall prevalence is 83.0 per 10,000 male births. A majority of cases (56.7%) were classified as first degree with the others having second degree (22.8%), third degree (4.7%) or not otherwise specified (15.6%). The highest prevalence of hypospadias was observed among Non-Hispanic whites. Higher prevalence also was observed among mothers in the older age group with no prenatal care in the first trimester and with gestational hypertension or diabetes. Premature or small for gestational age infants tend to have higher prevalence across all levels of severity. The number of hypospadias cases increased over time. After maternal age, race and education were adjusted, higher risk persisted for infants of restricted fetal growth, mothers with gestational hypertension or diabetes and the cohort of 2013-2016. CONCLUSION: There is an increase of hypospadias cases in Arkansas. Several maternal and infant characteristics associated with higher prevalence for all levels of severity are worth further investigation.

Prevalence and Clustering of Congenital Heart Defects Among Boys With Hypospadias.

Importance: Hypospadias is a common birth defect of the male urinary tract that may be isolated or may co-occur with other structural malformations, including congenital heart defects (CHDs). The risk for co-occurring CHDs among boys with hypospadias remains unknown, which limits screening and genetic testing strategies. Objective: To characterize the risk of major CHDs among boys born with hypospadias. Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective cohort study used data from population-based birth defect surveillance programs on all male infants born in 11 US states from January 1, 1995, to December 31, 2014. Statistical analysis was performed from September 2, 2020, to March 25, 2022. Exposure: Hypospadias. Main Outcomes and Measures: Demographic and diagnostic data were obtained from 2 active state-based birth defect surveillance programs for primary analyses, the Texas Birth Defects Registry and the Arkansas Reproductive Health Monitoring System, with validation among 9 additional states in the National Birth Defects Prevention Network (NBDPN). Birth defect diagnoses were identified using the British Pediatric Association coding for hypospadias (exposure) and major CHDs (primary outcomes). Maternal covariates and birth year were also abstracted from the vital records. Poisson regression was used to estimate adjusted prevalence ratios and 95% CIs for major CHDs within Texas and Arkansas and combined using inverse variance-weighted meta-analysis. Findings were validated using the NBDPN. Results: Among 3.7 million pregnancies in Texas and Arkansas, 1485 boys had hypospadias and a co-occurring CHD. Boys with hypospadias were 5.8 times (95% CI, 5.5-6.1) more likely to have a co-occurring CHD compared with boys without hypospadias. Associations were observed for every specific CHD analyzed among boys with hypospadias, occurred outside of chromosomal anomalies, and were validated in the NBDPN. An estimated 7.024% (95% CI, 7.020%-7.028%) of boys with hypospadias in Texas and 5.503% (95% CI, 5.495%-5.511%) of boys with hypospadias in Arkansas have a co-occurring CHD. In addition, hypospadias severity and maternal race and ethnicity were independently associated with the likelihood for hypospadias to co-occur with a CHD; boys in Texas with third-degree (ie, more severe) hypospadias were 2.7 times (95% CI, 2.2-3.4) more likely than boys with first-degree hypospadias to have a co-occurring CHD, with consistent estimates in Arkansas (odds ratio, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.4-5.3), and boys with hypospadias born to Hispanic mothers in Texas were 1.5 times (95% CI, 1.3-1.8) more likely to have a co-occurring CHD than boys with hypospadias born to non-Hispanic White mothers. Conclusions and Relevance: In this cohort study, boys with hypospadias had a higher prevalence of CHDs than boys without hypospadias. These findings support the need for consideration of additional CHD screening programs for boys born with hypospadias.

Urological Emergencies and Diseases in Wilderness Expeditions.

When considering medical emergencies that might affect an expedition, urologic emergencies are typically not included. However, the reality is that manageable and prevalent urologic disease processes can pose significant challenges for the wilderness medicine physician and warrant consideration. The purpose of this review is to identify and discuss the most commonly encountered urologic emergencies and diseases in the wilderness setting and to prepare the expedition medicine physician for management of these urgent conditions. A PubMed and Internet search for urologic emergencies and diseases in wilderness conditions was conducted. We also searched bibliographies for useful supplemental literature and material from leading mountain medicine and wilderness medicine societies as well as population-based studies for common urologic diseases. Urologic emergencies and diseases on expeditions and in wilderness conditions have been reported primarily with retrospective case series and case reports. The most commonly reported urologic emergencies in this setting include urologic trauma, renal calculi, and urinary retention. Parasitic infections in the urinary tract also have been reported to cause urinary symptoms and urinary retention in wilderness conditions. Although urologic diseases in such conditions are uncommon, significant morbidity and even potentially life-threatening sequelae to urologic emergencies were found to occur. Major genitourinary emergencies in expedition medicine are uncommon but involve both potentially manageable urgent conditions and serious life-threatening conditions best treated with urgent stabilization and occasionally medical evacuation. The opportunity exists for increased awareness for management strategies for urologic conditions in the often remote or extreme environments of an expedition.

Hydronephrosis and Hydroureter Improvement Rates in Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Uretero-Ureterostomies: Does Anastomotic Site Matter?

OBJECTIVE: To compare improvement/change of hydronephrosis and hydroureter in patients with complete ureteral duplications that underwent upper and lower robotic-assisted laparoscopic uretero-ureterostomies. The hypothesis being that improvement of hydronephrosis and hydroureter between the two groups was similar. METHODS: 35 subjects met inclusion criteria and were reviewed retrospectively. 'Upper' anastomoses were defined as those being done below the lower pole of the kidney (Group 1), while 'lower' anastomoses were those done below the iliac vessels (Group 2). Primary variables analyzed were antero-posterior and diameter measurements of the renal pelvis and ureter, respectively, before and after surgery. Secondary variables included operative time, length of hospital stay, and complication rates. RESULTS: Group 1 consisted of 20 subjects while Group 2 consisted of 15 subjects. Presenting diagnoses were hydronephrosis in 31 subjects and incontinence in 4 subjects. Group 1 mean AP renal diameters decreased by 62.9% (P<.05), while Group 2 decreased by 65.4% (P<.05). Group 1 mean hydroureter diameter measurements decreased by 80.3% (P<.05), while Group 2 decreased by 83% (P<.05). The improvement in hydronephrosis and hydroureter between the two groups was not statistically different. Group 1 median operative time (271 minutes) was longer than Group 2 (201 minutes) (P<.05). There was no significant difference in hospital stay between the groups and there were no significant complications within the cohort. CONCLUSION: The improvement rate of hydronephrosis and hydroureter is similar in upper versus lower RAL UU. Operative time was significantly shorter in the lower anastomosis group.

Telemedicine Versus Traditional for Follow-Up Evaluation of Enuresis.

Introduction: Telemedicine allows health care professionals to diagnose and treat patients remotely. Enuresis is one of the most common chronic problems in childhood and specialized care can be limited. Utilization of telemedicine in this setting has not been previously analyzed. Materials and Methods: This study's aim is to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of telemedicine follow-up treatment of enuresis compared with traditional follow-up at our institution. A retrospective review of patients treated for nocturnal enuresis with either telemedicine (Group 1) or traditional (Group2) follow-up care was conducted. Patients, aged 5-18 years, treated for enuresis between July 2016 and December 2017 were included. Patients with confounding disease were excluded. Resolution of enuresis was the primary outcome as categorized by the International Children's Continence Society standards. Results: Seventy-seven (n = 77) patients met inclusion criteria with 23 patients in Group 1 and 54 patients in Group 2. Two patients in each group were lost to follow-up and 61.9% in Group 1 and 48.1% in Group 2 responded to treatment. The average age for both groups was 9.2 years. Patients in Group 1 averaged four appointments per patient and patients in Group 2 averaged 3.04 appointments per patient. Telemedicine follow-up patients missed fewer appointments (0.14) than patients with traditional follow-up (0.5) (p-value = 0.016). Thirteen of 21 patients (61.9%) responded to treatment in Group 1 (7 partial and 6 complete responders) as compared with 25 of 52 patients (48.1%) responding to treatment in Group 2 (8 partial and 17 complete responders) (p = 0.22). Of patients in Group 1, 87% reported they would use telemedicine again. Conclusions: Telemedicine follow-up of patients with enuresis demonstrated comparable effectiveness. Most patient families demonstrate a favorable opinion of using telemedicine again for this problem. Further research to understand the efficacy and benefits of telemedicine in this setting is needed.

Comparative analysis of perioperative prophylactic antibiotics in prevention of surgical site infections in stented, distal hypospadias repair.

PURPOSE: There is limited evidence that prophylactic antibiotics prevent surgical site infection in stented, distal hypospadias repair. Our hypothesis is that the use of prophylactic antibiotics does not affect the rate of surgical site infection in this setting. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study of consecutive patients over a 6-year period with distal penile hypospadias treated with urethral stenting. Variables analyzed include age, type of repair, usage of preoperative and/or postoperative antibiotics, and length of follow-up. Patients with a history of proximal or re-operative hypospadias repair were excluded. Surgical site infection was defined by the presence of postoperative penile erythema and/or purulent drainage treated with therapeutic antibiotics. Secondary outcome analysis included the presence of other hypospadias complications. RESULTS: 441 consecutive subjects met our inclusion criteria with a mean age of 13.3 months. Patients were categorized into groups: Group 1 - Preoperative antibiotics (n = 64), Group 2 - Both Preoperative & Postoperative antibiotics (n = 159), Group 3 - Postoperative antibiotics (n = 122), Group 4 - No Preoperative or Postoperative antibiotics (n = 96). Two surgical site infections were reported out of the 441 patients: 1 in Group 3 and 1 in Group 4 (p = 0.513). There was no significant difference in the total patients with a hypospadias complication between groups. In the table below, Groups 1-3 were combined (345 patients) for comparison to Group 4 (No antibiotics, 96 patients) for further analysis with no difference in SSIs (p = 0.388) or respective hypospadias complications. CONCLUSIONS: The use of perioperative prophylactic antibiotics, both before and after surgery for distal, stented hypospadias repair, have not been shown to reduce the rate of surgical site infections nor hypospadias complications. Consequently, the benefit of prophylactic antibiotics in this setting is unclear.

Altered mechanisms of genital development identified through integration of DNA methylation and genomic measures in hypospadias.

Hypospadias is a common birth defect where the urethral opening forms on the ventral side of the penis. We performed integrative methylomic, genomic, and transcriptomic analyses to characterize sites of DNA methylation that influence genital development. In case-control and case-only epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) of preputial tissue we identified 25 CpGs associated with hypospadias characteristics and used one-sample two stage least squares Mendelian randomization (2SLS MR) to show a causal relationship for 21 of the CpGs. The largest difference was 15.7% lower beta-value at cg14436889 among hypospadias cases than controls (EWAS P = 5.4e-7) and is likely causal (2SLS MR P = 9.8e-15). Integrative annotation using two-sample Mendelian randomization of these methylation regions highlight potentially causal roles of genes involved in germ layer differentiation (WDHD1, DNM1L, TULP3), beta-catenin signaling (PKP2, UBE2R2, TNKS), androgens (CYP4A11, CYP4A22, CYP4B1, CYP4X1, CYP4Z2P, EPHX1, CD33/SIGLEC3, SIGLEC5, SIGLEC7, KLK5, KLK7, KLK10, KLK13, KLK14), and reproductive traits (ACAA1, PLCD1, EFCAB4B, GMCL1, MKRN2, DNM1L, TEAD4, TSPAN9, KLK family). This study identified CpGs that remained differentially methylated after urogenital development and used the most relevant tissue sample available to study hypospadias. We identified multiple methylation sites and candidate genes that can be further evaluated for their roles in regulating urogenital development.

The role of genetic variation in DGKK on moderate and severe hypospadias.

BACKGROUND: Recent genome-wide association studies of hypospadias have implicated the role of genetic variants in or near the diacylglycerol kinase kappa (DGKK) gene. However, these variants are largely identified among samples of mild and moderate hypospadias cases. Therefore, we evaluated previously identified DGKK variants among second- and third-degree hypospadias cases and controls recruited in Arkansas, a state characterized by a high birth prevalence of hypospadias. METHODS: Second- and third-degree hypospadias non-Hispanic white cases (n = 36 and n = 9, respectively) and controls (n = 45) were recruited at Arkansas Children's Hospital. Preputial tissue was collected on cases and controls between 2013 and 2017. Cases and controls were genotyped using the Illumina Infinium Global Screening Array. We used logistic regression models to assess the association of genotyped and imputed genetic variants mapped to the DGKK region with second- and third-degree hypospadias. RESULTS: All families self-reported as non-Hispanic white and genetic principal component analyses did not demonstrate evidence of population stratification. Five DGKK variants previously reported as associated with hypospadias were identified in the genotype data. None of the variants were associated with second- or third-degree hypospadias (range of odds ratios = 0.7-0.9, all p > .05). CONCLUSIONS: In our analyses, genetic variation in DGKK does not play a role in the development of moderate and severe hypospadias. Our findings provide support to the etiologic heterogeneity of hypospadias by all classifications of severity.

2-octyl cyanoacrylate hypospadias repair dressing: a retrospective, controlled comparison.

INTRODUCTION: 2-octyl cyanoacrylate (OC) has been shown to be a viable option for usage following standard circumcision but data on its utilization following hypospadias repair is limited. Both OC and a standard waterproof transparent dressing (WD) are used following hypospadias repair at our children's hospital. Our hypothesis is that patients with distal hypospadias repair using OC for surgical dressing have similar outcomes as compared to patients with WD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was performed evaluating all patients with distal hypospadias repair during a 2 year period. OC was primarily used by one of the three physicians in the practice with the other two primarily used WD for surgical dressing. The primary endpoints evaluated include hematoma requiring surgical drainage, infection, meatal stenosis, urethrocutaneous fistula, dehiscence, and diverticulum. Standard follow up after hypospadias repair includes a 1 week follow up for patients requiring urethral stent removal and reevaluation for all patients 3-4 months after surgery. REDCap was used in order to compile the database used in this study. RESULTS: A total of 280 patients underwent distal hypospadias repair during this interval. One hundred twenty-two patients had OC used with 3 (2.4%) having complications: 2 fistulas and 1 with both meatal stenosis and fistula. One hundred fifty-eight patients were dressed with WD with 5 (3.2%) complications: 4 fistulas and 1 meatal stenosis. No patients had hematoma, wound dehiscence, diverticulum, or infection. CONCLUSION: A low rate of complication was observed following distal hypospadias repair using both 2-octyl cyanoacrylate and a standard waterproof transparent dressing. 2-octyl cyanoacrylate is a safe option for surgical dressing following distal hypospadias repair but its utilization in this setting is surgeon dependent.

Prophylactic Antibiotics After Stented, Distal Hypospadias Repair: Randomized Pilot Study.

The usage of prophylactic oral antibiotics following distal hypospadias repair with stenting has been recently challenged. This study evaluated the incidence of symptomatic urinary tract infections (UTIs) following stented, distal hypospadias repair and the impact of prophylactic antibiotic therapy. Subjects 0 to 5 years of age with distal hypospadias were randomized to either Group 1 (antibiotics) or Group 2 (no prophylactic therapy). Urinalysis/urine culture was obtained intraoperatively with no preoperative antibiotics given. Phone interviews at 1 month and 3 months after surgery were done. Forty-eight patients were successfully randomized to either Group 1 (24) or Group 2 (24). The incidence of symptomatic UTI in this pilot study is low, and prophylactic antibiotic therapy does not appear to lower the incidence of symptomatic UTI. A larger, randomized, multicenter trial is needed to determine whether antibiotic prophylaxis reduces the risk of symptomatic UTIs following stented, distal hypospadias repair.

Analysis of preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis in stented, distal hypospadias repair.

INTRODUCTION: Surgical site infection [SSI] is a risk for any surgical procedure, including hypospadias repair. Prophylactic antibiotic therapy for patients having surgery is often effective in preventing SSIs, but with increasing rates of antibiotic resistance, this practice has been questioned. The objectives of this study are 1) to assess the incidence of SSIs in patients following stented, distal hypospadias repair and 2) to observe for any potential difference in the incidence of SSIs for patients with and without preoperative antibiotic utilization in this setting. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed consecutive patients treated with stented, distal hypospadias repair from 2011 to 2014 by three surgeons and compared two groups: patients who received preoperative antibiotics and patients who did not. Patients with a history of previous hypospadias repair were excluded from the study. RESULTS: Two hundred twenty-four subjects were identified. Group 1 (135) received preoperative antibiotic and Group 2 (89) did not receive preoperative antibiotics. There was no statistically significant difference in SSI prevalence with 0 patients in Group 1 and 1 patient in Group 2 having a SSI. CONCLUSION: Although prophylactic antibiotics prior to hypospadias repair are most often used by pediatric urologists, this study demonstrates further evidence that antibiotics prior to this procedure do not appear to lower the rate of SSI. This study is limited by its retrospective nature and disparate mean follow up in the two cohorts. Surgical site infection does not appear to be decreased by prophylactic antibiotic therapy before distal hypospadias repair.

To Finish the Cut or Not.

We retrospectively evaluated the management of patients with unrecognized glanular hypospadias and a completed (group 1) or aborted (group 2) neonatal circumcision. The rate and type of subsequent surgeries performed were analyzed. Penile curvature, urinary stream deviation, and their impact on management were evaluated. Surgery was done in 55% of patients-40% of group 1 and 86% of group 2. Completion of the circumcision was done in 63% of group 2. Hypospadias repair was performed in 56% of group 1 and in 34% of group 2. Penile curvature rate did not affect the rate or type of surgery performed. Urinary stream deviation did not affect the rate of repair, but was a significant factor leading to hypospadias repair. We concluded that providers performing neonatal circumcisions do not have to abort the procedure when a glanular hypospadias is noticed. Most patients will require circumcision completion only.

Shortened operative time for pediatric robotic versus laparoscopic dismembered pyeloplasty.

INTRODUCTION: Robotic-assisted laparoscopic pyeloplasty (RALP) is increasingly becoming the standard procedure for management of ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) in the pediatric population, but few studies have shown a clear advantage over the more technically demanding laparoscopic pyeloplasty (LP) in children. The objective was to study the patients treated with RALP or LP at our institution and the associated outcomes for each minimally invasive approach for the correction of UPJO. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our laparoscopic and robotic database was queried to identify all patients with a history of primary robotic-assisted or laparoscopic dismembered pyeloplasty for the correction of UPJO performed at our institution from January 2010 through November 2013 and were retrospectively reviewed. We analyzed age, surgical time, blood loss, hospital stay length, postoperative complications, and success rate. RESULTS: Seventy-three total patients were identified as having RALP or LP during this time period with five patients excluded from the analysis. We identified 55 patients with RALP and 13 patients with LP. No differences in success rate or postoperative complications were found for the two cohorts. The length of procedure was significantly shorter for the RALP group compared to the LP group.

Prenatal diagnosis and telemedicine consultation of fetal urologic disorders.

In Arkansas, telemedicine is used commonly in obstetrics through Antenatal and Neonatal Guidelines, Education and Learning System (ANGELS), the existing statewide telemedicine network. This network is used primarily for tele-ultrasound and maternal-fetal medicine consultation. This study is a retrospective case series, describing all the patients who had a prenatally diagnosed urologic anomaly that required prenatal urologic consultation. From 2009-2013, approximately 1300 anomalies were recorded in the Arkansas Fetal Diagnosis and Management (AFDM) database, 14% of which were urologic anomalies. Twenty-six cases required prenatal urologic consultation, 25 of which were conducted via telemedicine. Teleconsultation allowed patients to combine maternal-fetal medicine and urologic consultations in one visit, saving time and effort and ultimately, for most patients, providing reassurance that delivery could be accomplished locally with postnatal follow-up already arranged. While there are several studies reporting the use of telemedicine for various subspecialty consultations, to our knowledge, this is the first to describe the use of telemedicine for prenatal urology consultation. Future research could randomize patients prospectively to allow comparison of both the outcomes as well as the patient experience.

Use of appendix for renal transplant urinary diversion after complete transplant ureteral necrosis: a 12-year follow-up.

A 15-year-old African American male patient with a history of posterior urethral valves ablated as a newborn and who also had formation of an appendicopyelostomy at 3 years of age due to transplant ureteral necrosis subsequently underwent cadaveric renal transplant. At the time, this was a novel method for salvaging urinary diversion for the renal allograft previously reported in 2003. He most recently presented to Arkansas Children's Hospital for transplant rejection secondary to nonadherence with medications. We present an interval case report of a novel technique allowing a complicated cadaveric renal transplant to survive for 12 years.

Multidisciplinary management of complex vascular malformation invading bladder wall.

A 5-year-old African American male patient, with a history of complex vascular anomalies, underwent treatment for an infiltrating urinary bladder malformation initially misdiagnosed as a rhabdomyosarcoma. Neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser was used to treat the bladder wall before surgical resection. Vascular malformations of the bladder are rare. This report demonstrates a multimodal technique for management of large infiltrating bladder venous and lymphatic malformation. At the 3-month follow-up, his symptoms have resolved and his cystoscopy demonstrated no evidence of residual disease.

Autonomic dysreflexia during urodynamics in children and adolescents with spinal cord injury or severe neurologic disease.

INTRODUCTION: Autonomic dysreflexia (AD) is a well-established association of high spinal cord injury (SCI), particularly in those occurring above T6. When a noxious stimulus is encountered, the body responds by stimulating an increase in blood pressure, which is then countered by vasodilation. In patients with autonomic dysreflexia, the patient is unable to vasodilate below the level of spinal injury due to interruption of the autonomic innervation below the injury. This then leads to persistently elevated blood pressure causing uncoordinated autonomic responses such as headache, flushing, sweating, and even hypertensive crisis. The noxious stimulus most commonly reported is bladder or bowel distention [1]. This potential trigger is especially important since many patients with SCI require catheterization and repeated urodynamic testing, both of which predispose them to bladder distention. In response to an incident during which a patient developed severe hypertension during UDS, institutional concern was raised about the potential risk of AD in other patients with SCI ≥ T8 and other severe neurological disease undergoing urodynamic testing, and a protocol was initiated in 2007 for monitoring for AD during UDS. Although no long-term complication was encountered in this incident, the need for improvement in our understanding of the detection and treatment of AD during urodynamic testing was highlighted. However, due to the potential of UDS to trigger AD and possible subsequent severe cardiovascular crisis, a protocol was established at our institution. Because of reports documenting episodes of AD for patients with severe, non-SCI neurologic disease and the unknown risk, these patients also were historically monitored at our institution as well. OBJECTIVE: Autonomic dysreflexia (AD) is an uncoordinated autonomic response seen in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). AD is often triggered by bladder distention, which may occur during urodynamic studies (UDS), and has potentially life-threatening consequences. Our purpose is to determine the prevalence and associated factors of AD in children undergoing UDS with either SCI or other neurological disease. METHODS: We identified 13 pediatric patients with SCI at the eighth thoracic vertebrae or above (SCI ≥ T8) or other severe neurological disorder with urodynamic evaluations between 2007 and 2011 at our institution. We retrospectively reviewed these patients for age, gender, bladder volume, bladder compliance, detrusor instability, symptoms of AD, blood pressure, and urinary infection. RESULTS: There were a total of 13 patients with SCI ≥ T8 (9), transverse myelitis (2), and encephalomyelitis (2). There were a total of 41 urodynamic studies with an average of 3.2 studies per patient. One adolescent with C1/2 injury and a prepubertal child with T2/3 injury developed AD. AD was not observed in non-SCI patients. The patients who developed AD had multiple subsequent episodes with follow up UDS. No statistical associations were found for the variables evaluated. No major complications occurred, and AD was successfully managed conservatively. CONCLUSIONS: With appropriate monitoring and education, AD is easily recognized and managed conservatively. We found an increased risk of patients developing subsequent AD episodes after an initial episode. Patients who did not have autonomic dysreflexia during initial UDS did not experience autonomic dysreflexia on subsequent UDS. We did not observe autonomic dysreflexia occurring in children with transverse myelitis or encephalomyelitis.

A pilot study of telemedicine for post-operative urological care in children.

We conducted a retrospective study of paediatric urological surgery patients over a 12-month period. We compared patients followed up by telemedicine with those who had post-operative follow-up on site at the Arkansas Children's Hospital (ACH) in Little Rock. All pre-operative patients living in northwest Arkansas were given the opportunity to use telemedicine from a satellite clinic at Lowell, 328 km from the hospital. Of 61 patients, 10 chose telemedicine and 51 chose to be evaluated at the ACH clinic. All telemedicine visits were completed successfully, but in four cases, the video clarity of the telemedicine images was not sufficient for decision-making, and a digital photograph was sent by email to the physician at the ACH. There were no post-operative surgical complications in either patient group. In the telemedicine group, the median distance to the ACH was 330 km, and the median distance to the remote clinic was 35 km. In the on-site group, the median distance to the ACH was 293 km, which was significantly less (P=0.03). In the on-site group, the median travel time to the ACH was 174 min. If the telemedicine group had driven to the hospital, the median travel time would have been 192 min. Logistic regression showed that for every 37 km increase in distance to ACH, patients had a 111% increase in the odds of receiving telemedicine compared to receiving on-site care (OR=2.1, 95% CI: 1.0, 4.4). The pilot study supports the use of telemedicine for the post-operative evaluation of paediatric urology surgery patients and suggests that substantial travel distance and time savings can be made.