Study on the prevalence of neurogenic bladder in Brazilians with traumatic and non-traumatic spinal cord injury.

CONTEXT: Considering that SCI is the main cause of neurogenic bladder, in Brazil, studies and statistical data on the number of people with neurogenic bladder are practically non-existent. To ascertain the prevalence of neurogenic bladder among users of SARAH Network hospitals with traumatic and non-traumatic spinal cord injury. METHODS: Data collection form from electronic medical records to characterize the sample. The variables were related to sociodemographic data such as age, care unit, and date of admission; and to clinical data, such as main diagnosis, neurogenic bladder diagnosis. In the cases of traumatic spinal cord injury, the ASIA Impairment Scale (AIS) was considered. The statistical tests were Mann-Whitney, for two independent samples, and Pearson's Chi-squared, for the categorical variables. FINDINGS: The sample included 954 participants. The prevalence of neurogenic bladder was 94.65%, of which 67% had a traumatic spinal cord injury diagnosis and 69.32% were male. Mean age of the participants was 46.12 years old (SD = 15.78 years). CONCLUSION/CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The prevalence of neurogenic bladder found in the sample was 94.65%. The analysis showed that participants with TSCI are more afflicted by lower urinary tract dysfunction than those with NTSCI. TSCI was more prevalent among males and NTSCI was more prevalent among females. This was a pioneering study on the prevalence of neurogenic bladder in SCI in Brazil. However, further studies will be necessary to corroborate the data found here. The development of a database with national data is indispensable to obtain more reliable results that could provide a basis for public healthcare policies for the prevention and rehabilitation of people with SCI in Brazil.

Factors Influencing the Use of Intermittent Bladder Catheterization by Individuals With Spina Bifida in Brazil and Germany.

PURPOSE: Intermittent catheterization (IC) often is essential for individuals with spina bifida/myelomeningocele (SBM) and neurogenic bladder. This study aimed to identify and analyze the factors that influence the use of IC. DESIGN AND METHODS: Descriptive study with convenience sampling. Data were collected using printed (Brazil) and online (Germany) questionnaires, and analyzed using multivariate logistical regression and analysis of variance. The study included 100 Brazilian and 100 German patients, aged 0-55 years, with SBM who utilized IC. FINDINGS: Intermittent catheterization was used by 188 of the 200 patients. Three variables were important for predicting who did or did not use IC: no discontinuation of IC, absence of technical difficulty, and daily frequency of IC. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Findings suggest that difficulties with IC use experienced by spina bifida patients and their family members that predicted full discontinuation tended to be personal variables, rather than demographic or medical characteristics.