[Bladder tumors: superiority of urinary cytology after bladder lavage]

Sixty two endoscopic examinations were performed on fifty five patients for the followup of bladder tumors. The results of urinary cytological examinations performed on voided specimens of urine, on specimens collected after introduction of the endoscope, and specimens obtained by bladder washing with saline, were compared with the results of histological examinations of the tumors, and mucosal biopsies. The results show a definite superiority of bladder washing over the other methods: the rate of non-diagnostic procedures falls from 17 to 1.5%, the detection of grade III tumors or carcinomas in situ improves from 55 to 75% and from 33 to 88% respectively. Bladder washing cytology is thus a useful adjunct to voided urinary cytology.