Impact of adenotonsillectomy on urinary storage symptoms in children with sleep-disordered breathing

Abstract Objective To prospectively evaluate the effectiveness of adenotonsillectomy on resolving urinary storage symptoms such as frequency, urgency, and urgency urinary incontinence (UUI) in indicated sleep disordered breathing (SDB) patients. Methods We prospectively analyzed changes in storage symptoms and SDB score before and after surgery in 102 children (74 males, 28 females, mean age 8.4 ± 2.8 years) who underwent adenotonsillectomy between July 2011 and Feb 2012. Before and 3 months after surgery, all children and their parents were requested to answer a self-reported SDB scale-questionnaire (22 questions, 0–22 points) and a urinary storage symptoms questionnaire. Results The prevalence of urgency in the overall patients was 31.2%. After adenotonsillectomy, prevalence of frequency and, urgency in addition to SDB score were significantly decreased (p ≦ 0.001). The prevalence of UUI was also significantly lower (11.6%–7.4%, p  Conclusion Adenotonsillectomy markedly improved both SDB score and decreased the prevalence of voiding symptoms (frequency, urgency, and UUI). There was a strong correlation between preoperative SDB score and severity of urgency in children with SDB.