Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction: A Childhood Problem in Adults?

Lower urinary tract (LUT) dysfunction in children is a common clinical entity encountered and treated by pediatric urologists. Although the treatments available for this have continued to evolve, not all children are treated or have successful results. Many of these children are lost by the pediatric urologist during their teenage years, and what becomes of them as adults largely remains unknown. However, it is clear that a large population of adult women have LUT symptoms that parallel those seen in children. Although the data are scant, some evidence suggests that adult women with LUT symptoms suffered from similar symptoms as children, suggesting a continuation or recurrence of abnormal voiding patterns. As more children are diagnosed and treated for LUT dysfunction, prospective and multicenter studies will need to be initiated to follow them into adulthood and investigate the outcomes of earlier interventions.