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Concept
Urodynamic testing
Summary
Urodynamic testing or urodynamics is a study that assesses how the bladder and urethra are performing their job of storing and releasing urine. Urodynamic tests can help explain symptoms such as:
incontinence
frequent urination
sudden, strong urges to urinate but nothing comes out
problems starting a urine stream
painful urination
problems emptying the bladder completely (Vesical tenesmus, detrusor failure)
recurrent urinary tract infections
Urodynamic tests are usually performed in Urology, Gynecology, OB/GYN, Internal medicine, and Primary care offices. Urodynamics will provide the physician with the information necessary to diagnose the cause and nature of a patient's incontinence, thus giving the best treatment options available. Urodynamics is typically conducted by urologists or urogynecologists.
The tests are most often arranged for men with enlarged prostate glands, and for women with incontinence that has either failed conservative treatment or requires surgery.
Probably the most important group in whom these tests are performed are those with a neuropathy such as spinal injury. In some of these patients (dependent on the level of the lesion), the micturition reflex can be essentially out of control and the detrusor pressures generated can be life-threatening.
Symptoms reported by the patient are an unreliable guide to the underlying dysfunction of the lower urinary tract. The purpose of urodynamics is to provide objective confirmation of the pathology that a patient's symptoms would suggest.
For example, a patient complaining of urinary urgency (or rushing to the toilet), with increased frequency of urination can have overactive bladder syndrome. The cause of this might be detrusor overactivity, in which the bladder muscle (the detrusor) contracts unexpectedly during bladder filling. Urodynamics can be used to confirm the presence of detrusor overactivity, which may help guide treatment. An overactive detrusor can be associated with urge incontinence.
Official source
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