The vesical sphincter electromyogram in children with normal and abnormal voiding patterns.

Recording the vesical sphincter electromyogram clarifies abnormal patterns of voiding in children. Since the electromyogram patterns in children with normal voiding patterns have not yet been evaluated, we recorded the sphincter electromyograms during voiding of 39 children with normal voiding patterns. These normal electromyograms were compared to those recorded in 86 children with abnormal voiding patterns. Each of the 39 children with a normal voiding pattern demonstrated synergy of the vesical sphincter during voiding. Of the 86 children with an abnormal voiding pattern 69 per cent demonstrated synergy and 31 per cent demonstrated dyssynergia of the vesical sphincter during voiding. Of the children with dyssynergia 89 per cent were girls and only 11 per cent were boys. Sphincter dyssynergia was demonstrated only by children with an abnormal pattern of voiding and those with a history of a normal pattern of voiding demonstrated only sphincter synergy (p less than 0.005). The electromyographic diagnoses of vesical sphincter synergy and dyssynergia obtained by surface electrode recordings correlated with the clinical voiding patterns of the children.