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Objective: In children and adolescents with myelomeningocele (MMC), the relation between muscle mass and body composition varies considerably, making it difficult to evaluate the relevance of renal function assessments done with serum (s)-creatinine. Therefore, a reference interval for enzymic s-creatinine in individuals with MMC was constructed., Material and Methods: Patients with MMC aged 1.5-18 years who consistently had chromium-51-labelled edetic acid clearance within normal limits (88-132 ml/min/1.73 m(2)) were selected for the study. Included were 52 girls and 71 boys with a total of 471 s-creatinine determinations. Children with normal body composition were used as controls., Results: The mean s-creatinine concentration at the age of 1.5 years was 22 micromol/l in girls and 21 micromol/l in boys and increased to 38 micromol/l in girls and 58 micromol/l in boys at the age of 18 years. There was no difference between the genders until the age of 12. From the age of 3 years, there was a significantly lower median s-creatinine concentration in the MMC children compared with a healthy age-matched population. The median concentration of the MMC children was equivalent to the 2.5 percentile of the control group., Conclusion: From the age of 3 years, the reference interval for children and adolescents with MMC showed a lower median concentration for enzymic s-creatinine and a greater interindividual variation compared with the healthy age-matched population.

Objective: It has been suggested that clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) during the teenage years is associated with poor motivation to comply with the treatment, recurrent urinary tract infections and epididymitis. The aim of this study was to identify the main problems and complications associated with self-CIC in a group of adolescents with no overt neurological problems., Material and Methods: The medical records of 24 boys and girls aged >/=12 years on self-CIC with severe bladder dysfunction and intact perineal sensibility and motor function in the lower limbs were reviewed. The median age of the patients was 16.5 years (range 12-24 years) and they had been on CIC for a median of 11 years (range 2-16 years)., Results: No urethral damage was reported. Of the 11 patients (46%) who had good CIC routines, two had cystitis and none had epididymitis. Thirteen patients (54%) reported a poor CIC regimen at a median age of 11.5 years (range 9-16 years). In this group, 10 had recurrent cystitis, five had pyelonephritis, four had increasing creatinine levels and three of nine boys had epididymitis., Conclusions: One of the main problems associated with CIC during adolescence is poor compliance with the treatment. Epididymitis and recurrent urinary tract infections were seen more frequently in connection with poor CIC routines.