The Effect of Breathing Exercises on the Nocturnal Enuresis in the Children with the Sleep-Disordered Breathing

BACKGROUND: The nocturnal enuresis is one of the most common complaints of childhood. Upper airway obstruction and nocturnal snoring affect the nocturnal enuresis in children. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of breathing exercises on the nocturnal enuresis in the children with the sleep-disordered breathing. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study was conducted in year of 2011 by a semi-experimental design with the control group among 40 children, aged 6 - 12 years, who had the nocturnal enuresis. Participants were examined based on the criteria of nocturnal enuresis, oral breathing, and nocturnal snoring. Subsequently, they were randomly assigned to the case and control groups. In the case group, the breathing exercises were performed for 45 minutes, and were pursued for four weeks in the morning following and prior to sleeping, and subsequently the arterial blood gases were measured and the frequency of enuresis and the respiratory rates (RR) were recorded. RESULTS: After intervention the means of PaCO(2) and RR in the control group were significantly higher than the case group (P < 0.0001). Likewise, O(2)sat, PaO(2) in the case group were higher than the control group (P < 0.0001). The nocturnal enuresis decreased significantly in the case group, compared to the control group (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the breathing exercises may reduce the frequency of nocturnal enuresis in the patients with the oral breathing and nocturnal snore. The clinical implications of these findings should be verified in the future longitudinal studies.