Detection of recurrent bladder tumours by transrectal and abdominal ultrasound compared with cystoscopy

Transrectal and transabdominal ultrasound was used to detect the recurrence of bladder tumours and compared with conventional cystoscopy. Forty patients with a previous history of bladder tumour were examined by these methods; 50% had a recurrence. Transabdominal and transrectal ultrasound together identified 95% of recurrences; 1 tumour (diameter 1 mm) was missed. The false positive rate was 5% and these areas, identified wrongly by ultrasound as tumour, were shown to be scars on cystoscopy. Combination ultrasound may be used as an alternative to check cystoscopy in certain categories of bladder tumour.