The Role of Secondary Conservative Management Strategies in Bladder and Bowel Dysfunction: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Adree Khondker; Ihtisham Ahmad; Zwetlana Rajesh; Sabrina Balkaran; Zizo Al-Daqqaq; Jin K Kim; Natasha Brownrigg; Abby Varghese; Michael Chua; Mandy Rickard; Armando J Lorenzo; Joana Dos Santos

doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2024.114152

The Role of Secondary Conservative Management Strategies in Bladder and Bowel Dysfunction: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

J Pediatr. 2024 Oct:273:114152. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2024.114152. Epub 2024 Jun 19.

Affiliations

¹ Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada; Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
² Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
³ Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁴ Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada. Electronic address: joana.dossantos@sickkids.ca.

PMID: 38906507
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2024.114152

Abstract

Objective: We sought to determine the effect of secondary management strategies in addition to urotherapy on bowel bladder dysfunction outcomes.

Study design: The review protocol was prospectively registered (CRD42023422168). MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, and Scopus (database initiation until June 2023) were searched. Comparative studies of secondary management strategies vs conventional urotherapy alone were included. Two authors independently screened titles, abstracts, and reviewed full-text articles. Two authors extracted data related to study characteristics, methodology, subjects, and results.

Results: In this systematic review and meta-analysis of 18 studies and 1228 children, secondary management strategies (home-based education, biofeedback, and physical therapy) were associated with reduced symptom burden, fewer recurrent urinary tract infections, and improved uroflowmetry findings than children treated solely with urotherapy for conservative management.

Conclusions: Although there is significant reporting heterogeneity, secondary conservative management strategies such as home education, biofeedback or cognitive behavioral therapy, and physiotherapy-based education are associated with less urinary incontinence, fewer infections, and fewer abnormal uroflowmetry findings.

Keywords: Bladder and bowel dysfunction; biofeedback; urotherapy.

Publication types

Systematic Review
Meta-Analysis

MeSH terms

Biofeedback, Psychology / methods
Child
Conservative Treatment* / methods
Humans
Physical Therapy Modalities