Psychiatric comorbidities of children with elimination disorders.

Enuresis and encopresis can be stressful for children and parents. We investigated the comorbid psychiatric disorders and the emotional and behavioral symptoms associated with elimination disorders. A total of 97 children and adolescents (aged 4-17 years) with an elimination disorder participated in this study. The elimination disorder group consisted of three subgroups: 50 subjects with enuresis nocturna, 26 with encopresis, and 21 subjects with enuresis+encopresis. The control group with no elimination disorder comprised 50 healthy subjects. All children were interviewed by a child and adolescent psychiatrist. Comorbid psychiatric disorders were assessed using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime version (K-SADS-PL). Parents completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. The most common diagnosis was attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, followed by oppositional defiant disorder. The highest rate of psychiatric comorbidity was observed in the enuresis+encopresis subgroup, followed by the enuresis nocturna and encopresis subgroups. All the subgroups had higher total difficulties scores than the control group. Screening for psychiatric disorders should be performed for all children with incontinence.

Association between elimination disorders and abusive maternal attitudes.

OBJECTIVE: Enuresis and encopresis, both conditions are very distressful to children and their family members and it is responsible for significant social and psychological consequences in children and adolescents. The present study aims to determine the rate of abusive maternal attitudes towards children and adolescents with elimination disorders (EDs) and to investigate the maternal psychological and socio-cultural factors associated with abusive parenting attitudes. METHOD: N = 180 children with ED were included in the study. Family Assessment Device (FAD), and Symptom Check List (SCL-90-R) were administered to mothers. RESULTS: Our results indicated that prevalence of abusive maternal attitudes in our sample was 73.8%. Children and adolescents with ED who live with low-educated parents (p = 0.008), low socio economic status (p = 0.014), and in cases with living in a large or divorced family (p = 0.014), disorganized or chaotic families can be considered a population at risk (p < 0.05), since it is more likely that they suffer more severe abusive maternal attitudes. CONCLUSION: Present study showed high rates of abusive parenting attitudes in cases of EDs in a sample of Turkish children and adolescents. Further research on the etiological and therapeutic importance of the family in the case of ED referred to a psychiatry clinic should be carried out.

Elimination disorders and anxious-depressed symptoms in preschool children: a population-based study.

The prevalence rates of elimination disorders and anxious/depressed symptoms of a representative sample of young children and their associations were assessed. 2,079 children in a defined geographical area were examined at school-entry. A parental questionnaire with 4 questions referring to symptoms of incontinence and 14 items of the anxious/depressed scale of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was administered. 9.5 % of 6-year-old children wet at night, 2.7 % wet during day and 1.2 % had faecal incontinence. Significantly more boys wet at night (11.7 %) than girls (7.2 %; OR 0.58, 95 % CI 0.43-0.78). 12.7 % had clinically relevant anxious/depressed symptoms. Children with at least one elimination disorder had significantly higher T values of the 'anxious/depressed' CBCL than continent controls. Children with faecal incontinence had highest T values of the 'anxious/depressed' CBCL syndrome scale, significantly higher than those of children with other elimination disorders and controls. Elimination disorders, as well as anxious/depressed symptoms are common at a young age. Boys are more affected by elimination disorders than girls, but not by anxious/depressed symptoms. Children with faecal incontinence have the highest rate of anxious/depressed symptoms.

Two Sessions of Behavioral Urotherapy for Bowel and Bladder Dysfunction: Does It Get Any Better?

This study sets to determine the optimal duration of behavioral urotherapy necessary to achieve maximal improvement in the management of pediatric bowel and bladder dysfunction.

¿Qué esconden los problemas del control de esfínteres? A propósito de un caso / Hiding problems sphincters management: report of a case

Los trastornos del control de esfínteres son uno de los problemas más comunes en la consulta del pediatra de Atención Primaria. Se expone un caso clínico de un niño de cuatro años que presenta encopresis funcional por rechazo a utilizar el inodoro, así como la intervención llevada a cabo en conjunto por Pediatría y Psicología Clínica. La exposición de este caso muestra cómo la misma manifestación puede esconder distintos problemas que requerirán diferentes abordajes terapéuticos. Asimismo, se pone de manifiesto la necesidad de prestar atención a los diversos contextos que rodean al niño (familia, escuela, profesionales), así como valorar la interacción y la influencia mutua de los síntomas de este con la actitud de los padres y con otros factores externos para entender y abordar el problema de forma más precisa y global (AU)

Toilet training disorders are commonly treated problems in Primary Health Care Pediatrician practice. A case study of a four year-old boy with functional encopresis and stool toileting refusal is presented; the interdisciplinary intervention conducted by specialized Pediatrics and Clinical Psychology is also discussed. This clinical case presentation shows that the same symptoms may underlie different problems which would require different therapeutic interventions. The need to pay attention to the contexts surrounding the child (family, school, professionals) is also highlighted; as well as assessing the interaction and reciprocal influence between the child’s symptoms, the parents’ attitudes and other external factors, in order to understand and approach to the problem in a more comprehensive way (AU)

Fragile x syndrome and elimination disorders in a 6-year-old girl.

A case of a 6-year-old girl with multiple elimination disorders (nocturnal enuresis, functional urinary incontinence and fecal incontinence) and a fragile X-syndrome is described. The late diagnosis of the fragile X-syndrome had implications for treatment as well as for family interaction. With the knowledge of the diagnosis the parents reacted in a more understanding manner regarding the behavioral problems of the child, whereby the elimination problems were reduced. The need for further research on elimination disorders in children with genetic disorders is discussed.

Diagnostic agreement predicts treatment process and outcomes in youth mental health clinics.

Several studies have documented low rates of agreement between clinician- and researcher-generated diagnoses. However, little is known about whether this lack of agreement has implications for the processes and outcomes of subsequent treatment. To study this possibility, the authors used diagnostic agreement to predict therapy engagement and outcomes for 197 youths treated in 5 community mental health clinics. Diagnostic agreement predicted better therapy engagement, with the agree group having fewer therapy no-shows and cancellations and a decreased likelihood of therapy dropout. Additionally, support for a link between agreement and treatment outcomes was found, as the agree group obtained larger reductions in parent-reported internalizing problems during treatment. These findings suggest that diagnostic accuracy may be an important precursor to successful treatment and highlight the importance of future research to find ways to incorporate standardized diagnostic procedures into clinical care settings.

Functional urinary and fecal incontinence in neurologically normal children: symptoms of one 'functional elimination disorder'?

OBJECTIVE: To clarify the relationship between disordered defecation and non-neuropathic bladder-sphincter dysfunction (NNBSD) by comparing the prevalence of symptoms of disordered defecation in children with NNBSD before and after treatment for urinary incontinence (UI), and assessing the effect of such symptoms on the cure rate for UI. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In the European Bladder Dysfunction Study, a prospective multicentre study comparing treatment plans for children with NNBSD, 202 children completed questionnaires on voiding and on defecation, at entry and after treatment for UI. Four symptoms of disordered defecation were evaluated; low defecation frequency, painful defecation, fecal soiling, and encopresis. RESULTS: At entry, 17 of the 179 children with complete data sets had low defecation frequency and/or painful defecation (9%), classified as functional constipation (FC). Of the 179 children, 57 had either isolated fecal soiling or soiling with encopresis (32%), classified as functional fecal incontinence (FFI). After treatment for UI, FFI decreased to 38/179 (21%) (statistically significant, P = 0.035); for FC there were too few children for analysis. After treatment for UI, 19 of the 179 children (11%) reported de novo FFI. Symptoms of disordered defecation did not influence the cure rate of treatment for UI. CONCLUSIONS: FFI improved significantly after treatment for UI only, but not in relation to the outcome of such treatment. FFI did not influence the cure rate for UI. There was little to support a causal relation between disordered defecation and NNBDS ('functional elimination syndrome').

Animus: um desafio diagnóstico e terapêutico / Animus: a diagnosis and therapeutic challenger

O animus tem sido implicado como o principal componente da evacuação obstruída. Além da constipação intestinal, a proctalgia crônica é outra manifestação freqüente deste distúrbio. O diagnóstico envolve medições laboratoriais do esforço evacuatório, sendo a proctografia dinâmica o exame padrão-ouro. O tratamento consiste, na maioria dos casos, de retreinamento com biofeedback (BF), associado a medidas dietoterápicas e uso de laxantes suaves.