The changing neurourologic lesion in myelodysplasia.

Seventy-nine newborns with myelodysplasia were followed up for 1 1/2 to six years with serial roentgenographic, neurologic, and urodynamic evaluations. Twenty-nine infants (37%) demonstrated changes in external urethral sphincter innervation during the first three years of life. Of the group who changed, 896% (25/29 infants) did so in the first year, 10% (3/29 infants) in the second year, and 4% (1/29 infants) in the third. The risk factor for change was 32%, 6%, and 2%, respectively, during each of these three years. Fifteen infants (19% of the total) experienced neurourologic deterioration while 14 infants (18%) improved. Seven newborns underwent a second neurosurgical procedure resulting in improvement in four, stabilization in two, and further deterioration in one. These findings underline the importance of early and continued neurologic and urologic surveillance in children with myelodysplasia because it is a dynamic disease process.