Early start of clean intermittent catheterization versus expectant management in children with spina bifida.

Purpose: We instituted early clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) in 1997 for all newborn infants with spina bifida (SB). We compared this group to a historical group managed expectantly to see if early catheterization was associated with a reduction in renal scar rate as determined by DMSA scanning.

Methods: Data were studied retrospectively on all infants with SB over a recent 13-year period who were treated with early universal CIC in a regional pediatric urology department.