Prospective Cohort of Transitional Urology Patients

Overview

A transitional Urology database was created in parallel with National Spina Bifida registry to follow patients with complex congenital urogenital anomalies and be able to prospectively evaluate them. The investigators obtained the standardized questionnaires to collect long-term data regarding patients' genitourinary status including urine and fecal continence, sexuality, fertility, and pelvic health.

The care and management of pediatric patients with congenital genitourinary anomalies transitioning to adolescents and later adults is undergoing a period of profound transformation. Due to improvements in surgical and nonsurgical interventions, children with diverse congenital disease affecting the genitourinary tract are surviving into adulthood at far higher rates than in the past. As an example, up to 70-75% of children born with a myelomeningocele and consequent neurogenic bladder are living past the age of twenty. These new expectations, especially in the areas of sexual function, fertility and reproductive health, are creating previously unseen challenges for health care providers attempting to transition adolescents from pediatric to adult care. As this patient population continues to grow, the transitional process for urological care of congenital anomalies is progressively becoming a topic of vital importance. We plan to advance adolescence clinical and research care and pioneering a unique and novel opportunity in transitional care. This database will help us: 1. To develop and revise (as necessary) standards of care and treatment best practices for patients transitioning to adolescents with congenital genitourinary malformation. 2. To share evidence-based information between physicians across the country, advancing best practices for the secondary conditions of spina bifida, exstrophy, neurogenic bladder and bowel, and hydrocephalus. 3. To implement benchmarks to improve care in transitional urology clinics. 4. Evaluate the clinical cost-effectiveness of care offered.

Conditions