Pollakiuria in children with tic disorders.

BACKGROUND

To describe the rarely reported characteristics of pollakiuria in children with tic disorders (TD).

METHODS

During a period of one year, all patients visiting our Tourette Syndrome (TS) Clinic with TD were studied for presentation of pollakiuria.

RESULTS

We found that nine (1.9%) out of 467 children with TD had pollakiuria: 407 boys and 60 girls, with a mean age of 8.7 years. Of these nine children, there were eight boys and one girl, and their mean age was 7.4 years. Five had transient TD, one had chronic motor TD and the remaining three had TS. Their pollakiuria recovered within two to six months, except for two male patients aged six and 19 years, whose pollakiuria persisted for more than a year. Factors precipitating anxiety were identified in only three children. Obsessive compulsive behaviors could be traced in eight patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Pollakiuria occurring in children with TD is not frequently encountered. It usually has a benign course, as it does in those without tics. However, sometimes the pollakiuria waxed and waned over years, as do tics. Pollakiuria could be a manifestation of tics or a compulsion, instead of just an anxiety disorder.