Ultrasound: a noninvasive screening test for detrusor instability

• Published in: British journal of obstetrics and gynaecology Vol. 103; no. 9; p. 904
• Main Authors: Khullar, V, Cardozo, L D, Salvatore, S, Hill, S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01.09.1996
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Female; Humans; Middle Aged; Predictive Value of Tests; Pressure; Prospective Studies; Sensitivity and Specificity; Single-Blind Method; Ultrasonography; Urinary Bladder Diseases - diagnostic imaging; Urinary Bladder Diseases - pathology; Urinary Bladder Diseases - physiopathology; Urination Disorders - diagnostic imaging; Urination Disorders - pathology; Urination Disorders - physiopathology; Urodynamics
• ISSN: 0306-5456
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1996.tb09910.x

To determine whether transvaginal ultrasound measurement of bladder wall thickness can be used as a screening test for detrusor instability in women with urinary symptoms. A blinded prospective study. A London teaching hospital. One hundred and eight-four symptomatic women presenting to a urodynamic clinic. The detection of detrusor instability by means of videocystourethrography (VCU) and ambulatory urodynamics in women with a mean bladder wall thickness of greater than 5 mm measured by transvaginal ultrasound. One hundred and eight women had a mean bladder wall thickness of greater than 5 mm. Ninety-four percent (102) of these women had detrusor instability either when undergoing VCU or ambulatory urodynamics. Seventeen women had a bladder wall thickness of less than 3.5 mm of whom three were found to have detrusor instability on VCU. The measurement of a mean bladder wall thickness greater than 5 mm with transvaginal ultrasound is a sensitive screening method for diagnosing detrusor instability in symptomatic women without outflow obstruction.