Characteristic of monosymptomatic and nonmonosymptomatic childhood nocturnal enuresis in Benin City, Nigeria

Abstract

Background. In recent years, nocturnal enuresis (NE) has been classified into monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (MNE) and nonmonosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (NMNE) on the basis of the absence or presence of daytime voiding symptoms. Identifying clinical features that differentiate MNE from NMNE would aid in quick diagnosis, which would foster the introduction of early and appropriate therapeutic care options.

Objective. To identify distinguishing characteristics of MNE and NMNE in Nigerian children.

Methods. The parents of children in public primary and secondary schools in Egor local government area, Edo State, were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire.

Results. The total studied population included 1 221 parent/child pairs. Of the children studied, 228 were enuretic. There were 149 (65.4%) MNE and 79 (34.6%) NMNE children. Enuretic children with a history of multiple wetting per night or whose parents observed difficulty awakening them from sleep were significantly more likely to be in the NMNE group.

Conclusion. MNE is twice as common as NMNE and the main distinguishing features between the two groups of enuretic children are multiple wetting at night and difficulty awakening the child from sleep. These were significantly more commonly observed among the NMNE group of children.