Effect of Low Dose Imipramine in Patients with Nocturnal Enuresis, A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Introduction: Nocturnal enuresis is a condition, which can affectthe quality of life in children. The present study was designed toinvestigate the efficacy of low-dose imipramine combined withdesmopressin on treatment of patients with primary nocturnalenuresis who were defined as desmopressin non-responders.

Methods: A randomized clinical trial was carried out on patientswith primary nocturnal enuresis. Forty children with enuresisranging from 5 to 12 years old were randomly divided into theintervention (n = 20) and control groups (n = 20). The subjects inthe intervention group were treated with desmopressin combinedwith 5 mg imipramine at bedtime, and those in the control groupwere given desmopressin alone. The patients were followed upweekly for one month. The number of wet nights was recorded.

Results: Two individuals in the intervention and three individualsin the control group were excluded from the study. Our findingsindicated that the age and gender showed no significant difference.Furthermore, a significant better recovery in the enuresis wasobserved in 18 of 20 patients who were treated with combinationtherapy after 1 month (P < .05). In addition, the frequency ofrecovery was significantly higher (83.3%) in the intervention group,compared with the control group (29.4%).

Conclusion: The analysis showed that low-dose imipramine is welltolerated in clinical practice and may represent a good short-termtreatment option in combination therapy where desmopressinalone is not efficient enough.