PRESIDENT’SMESSAGE

In the year and a half since I assumed the Presidency of the ICCS, our organization has continued to flourish and expand its scope, in no small part due to the dynamic energy of the Board and to all of you. We have expanded our message in four continents having implemented courses in the Mideast, Tasmania, Delhi and Rio; all have been well received and hugely successful in advancing our cause of teaching about urinary incontinence, as judged by the large number of registrants from multiple disciplines attending these courses and their post-course comments.  In May, the ICCS is partnering with 9 other pediatric urologic societies to host the first World Congress in Pediatric Urology in San Francisco.  Our society is well represented with a preconference course on biofeedback training, sessions on enuresis and incontinence and lectures and panel discussions throughout the meeting. Additional courses for the remainder of this year are planned for Gdansk, and next year in Sharm el Sheikh and Taiwan.

Three new standardization documents have been published recently in the Journal of Urology (Evaluation ofMonosymptomatic Enuresis – T Neveus, February pp 441; Diagnostic Evaluation of Daytime Incontinence – P Hoebeke, February, pp 699; Management of Dysfunctional Voiding- Janet Chase, April pp 1296) and should be posted on the website in the next few months (copyright restriction). An editorial was published along with the first two standardization documents in the Journal of Urology in February (Pediatric Urinary Incontinence – S Bauer pp 425) in which I emphasized the importance of speaking the same language as the underlying principle of these documents.  The lead author of these reports and their committees had worked diligently and tirelessly to create documents that are useful to everyone who has an interest in this field.  Several more standardization documents are in preparation, soon to be completed and submitted for publication.  Drafts of documents nearing completion appear on the website for specified periods of time during which they are open for comments and suggestions before being finalized for publication.  What was once a dream of the ICCS Board is now truly a reality.  When all ten documents are completed they will set guidelines for understanding and implementing the evaluation and treatment of children with incontinence, whatever thecause.  In addition, they should spearhead the need for evidence-based research to enhance the scientific basisfor proposing or altering these guidelines as we gain more insight into the conditions we treat daily.

There are several exciting educational projects the ICCS is embarking on to further spread education and learning regarding continence issues in children. Our society is moving ahead towards creating slide sets for eventual distribution around the world and working on developing E-learning techniques to further educate those primary and secondary caregivers of children with lower urinary tract dysfunction who cannot attend regional courses and meetings.

Our society is so active and interactive due to the work of one man.  I must acknowledge the singular efforts of Tryggve Nevéus, our secretary, who has worked tirelessly and continually to encourage new members to join our organization, to advance and maintain our informative website, to perform periodic and enlightened reviews of current literature and to goad those individuals responsible for standardization documents and other policy statements to complete their tasks in a timely manner.

The original impetus to form the ICCS was to raise universal awareness, advance knowledge, create minimal standards of treatment, foster discourse and inspire research for childhood incontinence.  I am standing on the shoulders of giants as we strive to attain these goals.  Together we are moving forward in the 21^st Century.  I speakfor the entire Board as I encourage you to maintain a dialogue with our leadership (email or via the website) so these goals can be met efficiently and expeditiously.

Stuart B. Bauer

April 30, 2010

Industry cooperation statement

The ICCS is an independent, nonprofit organisation aimed at the advancement of research and healthcare. The ICCS Board and associated experts get no payment for their work. The running costs of the ICCS are covered by membership fees and unconditional educational grants from the medical industry. Foremost among the latter is Ferring Pharmaceuticals, the cooperation with which we hereby gratefully acknowledge. The Ferring-ICCS cooperation is regulated by a contract guaranteeing the independence and protection of both parts.