(Ultrasound Review) Italian urologists sonographically determined the prevoid urine volume necessary to assess the effects of benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) during uroflowmetry. Dr Mauro Dicuio and colleagues from the Ospedale Maggiore C. A. Pizzardi in Bologna, Italy, reported their results in the Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine.
Using transabdominal ultrasound, the researchers scanned 67 men and calculated both the prevoid bladder volume (when the patient felt the urge to void) and the residual volume after uroflowmetry. By ensuring the prevoid volume was >250 ml, they reduced the number of inadequate uroflowmetry studies from 23.9% to only 4.5%.
"Flow rate measurements in clinical studies require an amount of voided urine greater than 125-150 ml," according to the authors. The aim of the study was to compare the prevoiding volume with flow data, and determine the minimal prevoiding volume necessary for sufficient voiding amounts. The effectiveness of various treatment options could then be assessed using this technique.
The men included for study presented with lower urinary tract symptoms including obstructive or irritative symptoms, elevated PSA, or routine follow-up. Using a 7.5 MHz transducer, transrectal ultrasound was performed to determine the prostate volume. A 3.5 MHz transabdominal transducer was used to visualize the bladder, and the volume was calculated using the formula for a prolate ellipse (A x B x C x 0.52). A strong correlation was shown between the prevoid volume measured on ultrasound the voided volume on uroflowmetry.
Bladder ultrasound was a useful technique for assessing emerging BPH therapy, and was a simple, fast, and inexpensive diagnostic test, they asserted. The authors determined that if a voided volume of greater than 125 ml (<150 ml) is required, the mandatory prevoid volume measured sonographically should be greater than 200 ml (>250 ml).
The assessment of the bladder volume with ultrasound before uroflowmetry recording was a useful test for reducing the number of inadequate maximum flow rate recordings due to insufficient voided volumes, they concluded.
Usefulness of a prevoiding transabdominal sonographic bladder scan for uroflowmetry in patients involved in clinical studies of benign prostatic hyperplasiaDicuio, M., et. al.
Department of urology, Ospedale Maggiore C. A. Pizzardi, Bologna, Italy
J Ultrasound Med 2003 22: 773-776
By Ultrasound Review
October 14 , 2003
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