ALTERED BLADDER AND BOWEL FUNCTION FOLLOWING CUTANEOUS ELECTRICAL-FIELD STIMULATION IN CHILDREN WITH SPINA-BIFIDA - INTERIM RESULTS OF A RANDOMIZED DOUBLE-BLIND PLACEBO-CONTROLLED TRIAL

Bladder and bower dysfunction in spina bifida are the result of abnorm al electrical input, secondary to the neurological lesion of the spina l cord. Experimental attempts to correct this deficit with invasive el ectrical stimulation have demonstrated promising effects, as has a rec ent preliminary study of transcutaneous erectrostimulation in children with myelomeningocoele. A randomized controlled trial of non-invasive electrical stimulation in children with neuropathic bladder and bowel has been established. Interim results of 50 patients are presented. T reatment was performed at home for one hour daily for a mean period of 45 days. The only statistically significant difference between the ac tive and placebo-groups was a 32% relative decrease in nighttime urina ry incontinence, favoring the placebo group. However there were non-si gnificant trends of preferential improvement in the active group for t he relative increases in maximum and average bladder content and episo des of spontaneous normal defecation. It is anticipated that a continu ed increase in patient numbers will overcome the large placebo effect observed and yield more significant results.