High success rate of nocturnal enuresis treatment during the stay-home period for COVID-19

Objectives: To clarify whether enuresis treatment was more effective during the stay-home period for the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, when restrictions on activities enabled patients to concentrate on treatment. Methods: We performed a retrospective, nonrandomized cohort study for monosymptomatic enuresis during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic (March–June 2020) and a 2-year comparator period (March–June 2018 and March–June 2019). Primary outcome was treatment response, defined as a change in the number of wet nights per week within 6 months following enrollment. The time-dependent occurrence of treatment response was evaluated with the Kaplan–Meier method and the log-rank test. The Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to identify risk factors for treatment response. The range of appropriate sample sizes for this primary outcome was 39–48. Results: Of our 41 enrolled patients, 28 (68%) were male and mean age was 8.8 years. The complete response rate was 73% during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic period and 27% during the comparator period. Log-rank tests showed a higher cumulative incidence of complete response in the pandemic period (P = 0.020). Cox regression analysis identified treatment during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic (hazard ratio 2.533; 95% confidence interval 1.069–6.006) and dinner before 19:00 (hazard ratio 4.184; 95% confidence interval 1.56–11.252) as significantly associated with treatment response. Conclusions: The rate of enuresis treatment response was uncommonly high during the stay-home period for the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Restrictions on daily life may provide opportunities to concentrate on treatments for chronic illnesses, leading to more success.