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Published on: January 30, 2018
Changes in bladder contractility and compliance due to urethral obstruction: a longitudinal followup of guinea pigs
D J Kok1, K P Wolffenbuttel, J P Minekus
1Departments of Paediatric Urology and Urodynamics, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Purpose:
We established the longitudinal changes in bladder contractility and compliance as a result of urethral obstruction using a guinea pig model.
Materials And Methods:
Obstruction was induced in guinea pigs by a silver ring around the urethra. Urodynamic studies were performed longitudinally in individual animals. Bladder contractility and compliance were calculated from the measured bladder pressure and urine flow rate.
Results:
Bladder contractility developed in distinct phases. It reached a maximum 200% increase after an average of 3.25 weeks concomitant with an almost 2-fold increase in urethral resistance, remained 150% to 200% increased during weeks 4 to 7 and then decreased to starting levels again, while urethral resistance remained almost 2-fold increased. Bladder compliance decreased by 80% during the first 3 weeks and continued to decrease to 5% of its original value after 10 to 11 weeks.
Conclusions:
Our data indicate that as a result of obstruction bladder function passes through a specific sequence of stages, including first a compensatory increase in contractility, then a stabilization phase and finally a decompensation state. In contrast bladder compliance shows a continuous decrease. The data suggest that for assessing how far a bladder has deteriorated due to obstruction a combination of functional and structural data may be warranted.
