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Clinical Focus

This episode's guest is Julia Beth Finkelstein, MD, MPH, CPPS. She discusses the recent 

 study “Telemedicine for Pediatric Urological Postoperative Care is Safe, Convenient and Economical,” for which she served as a study author. Finkelstein is assistant professor of urology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York.

A HIFU expert discusses his treatment criteria

Dr. Angela Smith discusses Jelmyto for low-grade UTUC

What patients undergoing HIFU should expect postoperatively

In this episode, Julia Beth Finkelstein, MD, MPH, CPPS, discusses what she and her co-authors learned from a recent study evaluating the use of telemedicine for pediatric post-op visits.

Speaking of Urology: Dr. Finkelstein discusses telemedicine for pediatric post-op visits

The first patient has been dosed in the phase 1/2 redePHine trial, evaluating the safety and preliminary efficacy of ABO-101 for PH1. 

Trial launches of ABO-101 for primary hyperoxaluria type 1 

A phase 1/2 trial of ABO-101 is expected to launch in the first half of 2025. 

FDA awards orphan drug, rare pediatric disease designations to ABO-101 for PH1

"This first paper was really to show that our research methodology was feasible and acceptable with pediatric urology patients and families. We've done that, and now we have a huge corpus of data that we can further analyze through empirical studies," says Francesca A. Williamson, PhD.

Is video-based research feasible for pediatric urology visits?

“We hope to learn more about the urinary tract and then be able to correlate predisposition to UTIs or other urological conditions with urobiome composition or marker microbe presence,” says Tatyana A. Sysoeva, PhD. 

Pediatric urinary microbiome composition is associated with recurrent UTI 

"But here at IU, we have an experimental protocol that's open that's called testicular tissue cryopreservation, and it's a collaboration with UPMC," says Amanda J. Saraf, DO.

Amanda J. Saraf, DO, shares ongoing research on oncofertility options for pediatric patients

Brendan T. Frainey, MD, highlights findings from a study characterizing the diversity and composition of the urinary and intestinal microbiomes in patients with spina bifida.

Brendan Frainey, MD, on microbiome composition in patients with spina bifida

, highlights findings from a study characterizing the diversity and composition of the urinary and intestinal microbiomes in patients with spina bifida. Frainey is a pediatric urology fellow at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

This study had several key findings and a lot of things that we're excited to continue pursuing. The 3 big things that we took away from this thus far are 1, that bacteria are present in the urinary microbiomes of almost all individuals with spina bifida. In the next generation sequencing, or the 16s sequencing we did, 97% of people had some bacterial growth in their urine, and 100% had it in their stool. On the specialized urine cultures that we did—these are patients that weren't having any symptoms at the time—82% of patients had bacteria growing in their urine. The notion that the urine is sterile should be hopefully abolished by now, especially in this group where we know that these individuals do have a lot of bacteria growing in their bladders. We are hoping to understand how that contributes to their overall health.

The second big thing is that in their microbiomes, E coli was a major player. That's a common bug that leads to urinary tract infections. It was the most common organism we found and the most abundant. We looked at all the organisms in their microbiomes or the things that grew on urine culture, and we found that E coli was the dominant organism. In addition to that, we realized that there wasn't a ton of diversity in the microbiomes. These individuals often only had 1 or 2 bacteria that were dominating the whole microbiome, which is very different from a typical individual who has a lot of other what we call commensal bacteria that may be contributing to their health. We don't necessarily know what that means yet, but we know that there's not much diversity in the microbiomes of these individuals, which [may] play a [role] in why they get recurrent UTIs.

Then the final thing, which isn't that surprising, but we proved for the first time, was that patients who catheterize their bladder—a lot of individuals with spina bifida catheterize to empty their bladder—have higher proportions of skin flora growing and living in their bladder. Staphylococcus aureus is one of the common bacteria that lives on our skin and our hands. We took hand swaps and showed that that was more common in individuals that catheterize than those that didn't. It's something that we've presumed, because they're using their hands to catheterize themselves, but we've now shown. Hopefully down the line, we can say, if this bacteria might be growing and they don't have symptoms, that's expected. We shouldn't be treating individuals with spina bifida that have some of these common skin flora in their bladder if they're not having symptoms of a UTI or fevers. I think that'll be helpful to show and to prove down the line.

This transcript was AI generated and edited by human editors for clarity.

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"The notion that the urine is sterile should be hopefully abolished by now, especially in this group where we know that these individuals do have a lot of bacteria growing in their bladders," says Brendan T. Frainey, MD. 

Rosalia Misseri, MD, FAAP, highlights ongoing efforts to enhance quality of life for pediatric patients with urologic diseases through long-term data

Dr. Rosalia Misseri on using long-term data to enhance pediatric urologic care

, highlights ongoing efforts to enhance quality of life for pediatric patinets with urologic diseases through long-term data. Misseri is the chief of pediatric urology at Riley Children’s Health at Indiana University Health in Indianapolis.

I think we're doing some incredible work here looking at the long-term outcomes of different pediatric urologic diseases, and using that information to bring it back to the newborn and work with optimizing care from the minute the child is born. We have incredible data based on long-term follow up that help us understand what the right therapy is for kids, primarily kids with neurologic diseases like spina bifida, where there's a lot of focus on protecting their kidneys and optimizing the function of their bladder. But also, what we're learning is how important continence is to people with diseases that cause them to be incontinent and trying to optimize the appropriate time to intervene. How do we decide how important incontinence is to the child? How do we decide how important incontinence is to the family and how it affects their day to day life?

This transcription has been edited for clarity.

"We have incredible data based on long-term follow up that help us understand what the right therapy is for kids, primarily kids with neurologic diseases like spina bifida," says Rosalia Misseri, MD, FAAP.

Amanda J. Saraf, DO, highlights Indiana University’s (IU) Fertility Preservation Program and discusses their ongoing work studying testicular tissue cryopreservation for pre-pubertal boys undergoing cancer treatment

Dr. Saraf on testicular tissue cryopreservation for pediatric patients with cancer 

, highlights Indiana University’s (IU) Fertility Preservation Program and discusses their ongoing work studying an experimental fertility preservation procedure, testicular tissue cryopreservation, for pre-pubertal boys undergoing cancer treatment. Saraf is an associate professor of pediatrics at IU School of Medicine as well as the director of the Fertility Preservation Program at IU Health.

So, I was recruited here to get the program more formally established in 2018. Our goal is to meet with all patients and families and talk to them about their child's treatment plan and how that may impact their fertility risk for the future. So, we talk about what chemotherapy, radiation, and surgical procedures the child might get as a part of their cancer-directed treatment and give them an individualized risk assessment. They may be at high risk for future infertility, for example, and in those cases, we'll also talk to families about fertility preservation options if they're interested in that.

One part of our program here that I'm really excited about and proud of is our program that focuses on pre-pubertal males. We see both young men and young women to talk about fertility preservation. Of course, in teenage and adolescent boys, it's a little bit more straightforward. We offer sperm banking prior to starting therapy. For pre-pubertal boys, it's a little bit more challenging. There are not standard of care options available in young boys that haven't reached puberty yet. But here at IU, we have an experimental protocol that's open called testicular tissue cryopreservation, and it's a collaboration with UPMC. For boys that are specifically at high-risk for infertility, we offer this procedure, which basically involves taking a biopsy of the testicle and cryopreserving or freezing that for use later in life. The hope is that the research and technology will be mature enough at the time that they're ready to use that tissue for a biological child. It's in its earlier stages of research, so there haven't been any human babies born with this technology, but it's been shown in various animal models. It's exciting to have something to offer families when we tell them that their child is most likely to be infertile after their cancer treatments.

“The hope is that the research and technology will be mature enough at the time that they're ready to use that tissue for a biological child,” says Amanda J. Saraf, DO. 

Dr. Briony K. Varda highlights findings on UTI treatment among pediatric patients with spina bifida

Study finds overtreatment of presumed UTI in pediatric patients with spina bifida

, highlights the background and key findings from the study, “Antibiotic Overtreatment of Presumed Urinary Tract Infection Among Children with Spina Bifida,” for which she served as the lead author. Varda is a pediatric urologist, the co-director of the spina bifida program, and the director of clinical research at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC.

We wanted to know for our spina bifida patients that presented to the emergency room, how many of them were treated for a urinary tract infection when they didn't meet diagnostic criteria for a urinary tract infection. This is based on the idea that there are different criteria for a UTI in patients who self-catheterize. Specifically, these patients need to have 2 or more urologic symptoms, they need to have more than 10 white blood cells in their urinalysis, and they need to have a urine culture that grows greater than 100,000 of a single bacteria. In many instances, our patients were being treated, and not meeting all 3 criteria. So, we looked at the rate of that occurrence.

In short, 80% of our patients who received antibiotics were overtreated. What we found was that pyuria, or the incidence of white blood cells in the urinalysis, was a big driver for treating patients with antibiotics. But many of those patients would end up having negative cultures later, or they wouldn't have symptoms and were treated simply for the white blood cells in the urine. So, that was an important finding. Then the second aspect of this is that we found that patients who were non-White were more likely to be overtreated, which made us concerned about the thoroughness of symptom elicitation, and just relying on testing rather than connecting with the patient and understanding their concerns. We also found that headache was not associated with a UTI, which I think in some patient populations, such as spinal cord population, it can be associated. But it's important to note that our spina bifida patients are different and headache wasn't a predictor of a true UTI. So, overall, our patients were overtreated at a very high rate, and certain patients were overtreated in comparison to others.

“What we found was that pyuria, or the incidence of white blood cells in the urinalysis, was a big driver for treating patients with antibiotics,” says Briony K. Varda, MD, MPH. 

Miriam Harel, MD, discusses current key topics in pediatric urology.

Dr. Harel on hot topics in pediatric urology

 discusses current key topics in pediatric urology. Harel is an assistant professor of urology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.

What are some current key topics in pediatric urology?

I think probably the area getting the most attention nowadays is advances in robotic and minimally invasive surgery. That's really been a big push in recent years, to try to keep up with the advances that are happening in adult surgery. I think also, there's been a big focus on transitional care. A lot of conditions that we treat in pediatrics, these children get older, and they become adults. There's more of a need to really make sure that we have people well trained in taking care of these adults who started out with congenital abnormalities. One other area that I find particularly fascinating is a lot of work is being done to try to improve options for fertility preservation in boys. This has obviously been around for a long time in adults, and there is a particular challenge in children who might be undergoing chemotherapy or some treatments that will affect their eventual fertility. The particular challenge is that they are unfortunately being treated with these toxic agents at an age where they don't yet have mature sperm. It's much simpler in postpubertal patients where they can maybe just bank sperm for the future. But in younger children, that's not possible. There are many centers trying to advance the options in preserving prepubertal testicular tissue and then trying to work out ways to then use that tissue in the future. There's still a lot more work that needs to be done for us to know what to do with that tissue later, but I think it's very exciting to be able to at least offer those families some hope.

I find I keep remembering how important it is to tell these parents that it's not in their child's control. I think a lot of parents, without any ill will, think that there's a component of laziness or lack of motivation or lack of interest. But overnight, while these children are sleeping, it's completely out of their control. And it's important for both parents and child to know that.

This transcription was edited for clarity.

"I think probably the area getting the most attention nowadays is advances in robotic and minimally invasive surgery," says Miriam Harel, MD. 

Miriam Harel, MD, shares management strategies for nocturnal enuresis. 

Pediatric urologist shares management strategies for nocturnal enuresis

 shares management strategies for nocturnal enuresis. Harel is an assistant professor of urology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.

What are some management strategies for nocturnal enuresis?

I like to tell my patients, one of the first kind of treatments is actually reassurance - reassuring parents that this is, again, usually normal and will go away, also reassuring the children that there's nothing wrong and there's no reason to be embarrassed. If we don't find any underlying causes, then oftentimes the management might just be observation. If parents and children are comfortable with that, I tell a lot of families that bedwetting is usually not dangerous. The most potential danger is if it affects children's self esteem and lifestyle. If they're young enough where that's not a concern, then sometimes we'll just observe conservatively. If they are more interested in active treatment, one of the first things is, again, focusing on their daytime habits and setting them up for success at night. Some of the most important recommendations are what we call "timed voiding," which means that children should not wait too long to go to the bathroom during the day. For younger children, we usually recommend voiding every 2 hours, even if they don't feel the urge to void. Management of constipation is a huge factor in treating bedwetting; we actually find in about 20% of children who have constipation, their bedwetting may resolve with just management of constipation alone. Those are helpful conservative strategies to start with. If that's not sufficient and the children or parents are bothered by it, then there are some medications that we can add. The most common medication we use for bedwetting is called desmopressin. It's something that children would take 1 or 2 hours before bedtime, and it basically works to help limit urine production overnight. It's very safe if parents know to restrict their child's fluid intake at night, so that we don't affect the concentration of their electrolytes. But this can be effective in keeping children dry until they grow out of bedwetting. I always tell patients, most of us believe that this is not really a cure, but it's kind of like a band aid to help keep them dry while they're waiting to outgrow it. Many families are very happy just having that kind of temporary crutch. What I believe is the most effective treatment is using enuresis alarms. There are many different types of bedwetting alarms that specifically wake the child up when they start to urinate. It's important for parents to know that this is very different than just waking up their children randomly. A lot of parents try that, and it doesn't work and it kind of just makes everybody exhausted. The alarms are different because they are triggered by the actual wetness, and so over time, if the child gets up to then go to the bathroom, it teaches their brain and their bladder to communicate better and helps them grow out of the bedwetting faster. I believe that is a better long-term solution than medications; however, it does come along with much more effort not just for the child, but often for the parents who might have to wake their child up. Because again, part of this problem is that a lot of these children won't hear the alarm while they're sleeping.

"I like to tell my patients, one of the first kind of treatments is actually reassurance," says Miriam Harel, MD.

Miriam Harel, MD, discusses causes of nocturnal enuresis. 

Dr. Harel on potential causes of nocturnal enuresis

 discusses causes of nocturnal enuresis. Harel is an assistant professor of urology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.

Could you describe your clinical practice?

I think our whole department here provides a pretty comprehensive spectrum of pediatric urologic care. For me personally, I would say my particular interests are in reconstructive surgery, complex hypospadias repair, management of neurogenic and non-neurogenic voiding dysfunction, prenatal hydronephrosis, and I'm also very interested in posterior urethral valves.

What are some potential causes of nocturnal enuresis?

This is a very common condition that we treat and I think it's important to differentiate primary nocturnal enuresis, which means that the children have always had bedwetting and never grew out of it. Another important distinction is whether they have isolated nocturnal enuresis or if they have daytime incontinence as well. Probably the most common scenario that we get a lot of parental concerns about are the patients that only have bedwetting, and it just never went away. And in that particular group, it's first important to reassure parents that in most cases, it's actually normal. There are some genetic factors involved, meaning that some people are just more prone to having this prolonged bedwetting, but for most children, they will just outgrow it over time. That's a very common scenario. Other factors that might come to play are their bladder capacity being small, potentially urine overproduction at night. Some other things that we are always focusing on are any potential daytime habits related to their voiding or bowel movements that can affect them at night. And then another possible source is related to sleep patterns. Arousal can be an issue, most of these children sleep very deeply, andthat can also come into play where as they get older, and their sleep patterns change, they may be more likely to grow out of bedwetting.

"Probably the most common scenario that we get a lot of parental concerns about are the patients that only have bedwetting, and it just never went away," says Miriam Harel, MD.

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