Lower urinary tract symptoms in children with anorectal malformations with rectoperineal fistulas

AimThe aim was to describe the frequency of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in children with anorectal malformations with rectoperineal fistulas (ARM-P), as compared with healthy controls based on gender.MethodLUTS were defined using the 2014 definitions of the International Children's Continence Society. Data were collected at 2 tertiary pediatric surgery centers in 2 countries from all children aged 4–12 years who had undergone an operation for ARM-P.ResultsA total of 24 girls and 33 boys, with a median age of 8 (4–12) years, were eligible and compared with 165 controls. Of the patient group, 4 (17%) girls had 8 urinary tract anomalies (UTA), and 8 (24%) boys had 13 UTA. There were no gender differences in LUTS among the patients. The frequency of urinary tract infections was higher among the patients (5/24 girls and 7/55 boys) than the controls (1/55 and 4/110) (p = 0.009). More patients (5/24 girls and 5/33 boys) than controls (1/55 and 2/110) used daily urinary medications (p = 0.009 and p = 0.007, respectively). Patients with UTA reported urinary infections more frequently (3/4 girls and 4/8 boys) than those without UTA (2/20 girls and 0/25 boys) (p = 0.018 and p = 0.002, respectively).ConclusionChildren with ARM-P had more LUTS than controls, and patients with concomitant UTA had more LUTS than patients without UTA. Therefore, children with ARM-P are suggested to have routine follow-up for both UTA and LUTS.