Seasonal variability of NT-proBNP in Swedish primary care patients.

The aim of this study was to determine if there is a seasonal variation in the widely used heart failure marker NT-proBNP. The study included all primary care requests for NT-proBNP in the county of Uppsala, Sweden, between January 2007 and December 2015. For seasonal variation, the NT-proBNP results for individual months were compared. The NT-proBNP values were highest in July to September, but there was also a minor peak in December-January. In conclusion, a seasonal periodicity for NT-proBNP was demonstrated in primary care patients. The data could be useful for practitioners for evaluation of NT-proBNP results and monitoring of patients with heart failure.

No effect of basic bladder advice in enuresis: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: There are two firstline, evidence-based treatments available for nocturnal enuresis: desmopressin and the enuresis alarm. Prior to use of these therapies, international experts usually recommend that the children also be given basic bladder training during the daytime. The rationale behind this recommendation is that daytime bladder training or urotherapy, is a mainstay in the treatment of daytime incontinence caused by detrusor overactivity. Still, there is, as yet, no firm evidence that daytime bladder training is useful against nocturnal enuresis. AIM: To explore whether basic bladder advice has any effect against nocturnal enuresis. STUDY DESIGN: The study was prospective, randomized, and controlled. The evaluated intervention was bladder advice, given in accordance with ICCS guidelines and focused on regular voiding, sound voiding posture, and sufficient fluid intake. Forty children aged 6 years or more with previously untreated enuresis, but no daytime incontinence, were randomized (20 in each group) to receive either first basic bladder advice for 1 month and then alarm therapy (group A) or just the alarm therapy (group B). Based on power calculations, the minimum number of children required in each treatment arm was 15. RESULTS: The basic bladder advice did not reduce the enuresis frequency in group A (p = 0.089) and the end result after alarm therapy did not differ between the two groups (p = 0.74) (see Table). Only four children in group A had a partial or full response to bladder training, and two of these children relapsed immediately during alarm therapy. DISCUSSION: This was the first study to evaluate, in a prospective, randomized manner, the value of daytime basic bladder training as a treatment of enuresis. It was found that the treatment neither resulted in a significant reduction in the number of wet nights, nor did it improve the success of subsequent alarm therapy. CONCLUSIONS: The recommendation that all children with enuresis be given bladder training as a firstline therapy can no longer be supported. Instead, we recommend that treatment of these children start with the enuresis alarm or desmopressin without delay.

Infrequent enuresis, the uninvestigated majority comparisons between children with enuresis of varying severity.

OBJECTIVE: The main objective was to compare children with frequent enuresis (FE) and children with infrequent enuresis (IE) using anamnestic data and variables related to bladder and kidney function. A secondary aim was to look at the group of children who wet their beds every single night, a phenomenon we chose to call constant enuresis (CE). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The parents recorded the number of wet and dry nights for a period of 14 days, and measured the voided volumes as well as nocturnal urine production for 48 h. History data relevant to bladder and bowel function was also recorded. RESULTS: The children could be grouped as follows: IE, n = 14; FE, n = 18; and CE, n = 22. The children with IE were slightly older than the other groups, IE mean 7.57; FE mean 6.22; CE, mean 6.56 (p = 0.004). When comparing the groups in terms of the measured parameters, only one significant difference was found: the FE group had larger average daytime voided volumes, but only when the first morning void was included. The only significantly differing anamnestic variable was previous daytime incontinence, which was more common among the children in the IE group. CONCLUSIONS: When comparing children with varying enuresis severity, no major differences regarding bladder function and urine production were found. Furthermore, children with infrequent enuresis tend to be slightly older when they seek medical help.